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U.S. shutdown talks falter, Trump threatens emergency powers


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U.S. shutdown talks falter, Trump threatens emergency powers

By Richard Cowan and Jeff Mason

 

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U.S. President Donald Trump is accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as he speaks with reporters following a meeting with congressional leadership on the ongoing partial government shutdown in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 4, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and senior Democrats failed to strike a deal in talks on Friday to end a partial shutdown of the U.S. government as they again fought over Trump's request for $5 billion to fund his signature wall on the Mexican border.

 

After Democratic congressional leaders turned Trump down at a meeting in the White House Situation Room, the Republican president threatened to take the controversial step of using emergency powers to build the wall without approval from Congress.

 

Trump is withholding his support for a bill that would fully fund the government until he secures the money for the wall. As a result around 800,000 public workers have been unpaid, with about a quarter of the federal government closed for two weeks.

 

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats had told Trump during the meeting to end the shutdown.

"He resisted," Schumer said. "In fact, he said he'd keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years."

 

Trump confirmed that comment but painted a more positive picture of the meeting, the first since a new era of divided government began when Democrats took control of the House of Representatives on Thursday.

 

"We had a very, very productive meeting, and we've come a long way," Trump said.

 

But raising the stakes in his tussle with the newly emboldened Democrats, Trump threatened extraordinary measures to build the wall, which he says is needed to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States.

 

NATIONAL EMERGENCY?

 

Asked by a reporter whether he had considered declaring a national emergency to build the wall, Trump said: "Yes, I have ... I may do it ... we can call a national emergency and build it very quickly."

 

He said he could declare a national emergency "because of the security of our country, absolutely."

 

The U.S. Constitution assigns Congress the power over funding the federal government so Trump likely would face legal challenges if he tried to bypass Congress on financing the wall. Building a wall - and having Mexico pay for it - was one of Trump's main promises when he ran for president in 2016.

 

Trump's wall project is estimated to cost about $23 billion.

 

Democrats have called the wall immoral, ineffective and medieval.

 

Nancy Pelosi, the newly elected Democratic speaker of the House, said Friday's meeting with Trump was "sometimes contentious" but that they agreed to continue talking.

 

"But we recognise on the Democratic side that we really cannot resolve this until we open up government and we made that very clear to the president," she said.

 

Credit rating agency Moody's says the shutdown will cause minimal U.S. economic and credit market disruption but there could be a more severe impact on financial markets and the broad economy if the closure is protracted.

 

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll last week showed that 50 percent of the public blame Trump for the shutdown and 7 percent blame Republican lawmakers, while 32 percent blame Democrats.

 

In a Dec. 11 meeting with Pelosi and Schumer, Trump said he would be "proud" to shut the government over the security issue and would not blame Democrats. He has since said they are responsible.

 

Administration officials and congressional staffers are set to continue meeting over the weekend to try to end the impasse.

 

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters that the leaders and Trump had decided to designate staff to work over the weekend. He said Trump had named Vice President Mike Pence, senior aide Jared Kushner and Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen.

 

The partial shutdown is straining the country's immigration system, worsening backlogs in courts and complicating hiring for employers.

 

Federal agencies such as the Justice Department, Commerce Department and departments of Agriculture, Labor, Interior and Treasury have been hit by the shutdown.

 

House Ways and Means Committee chair Richard Neal, a Democrat, asked the Internal Revenue Service in a letter on Friday to explain the possible effects of the shutdown on the upcoming tax filing season for millions of Americans.

 

 
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-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-05
  • Haha 1
Posted
19 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

A reporter asked him if he was threatening this and he answered he wasn't threatening anybody. he didn't do it so all of this self righteous anger is all over nothing. Maybe watch the entire press conference if you haven't. It was quite entertaining Donald was in good form. 

 

 

 

 

That's good form !

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Posted
8 minutes ago, keemapoot said:

It really is clear from Trump supporters postings on this board. Trump really could shoot somebody point blank on Fifth Avenue and they would still support him. 

I doubt he could initially set foot on Fifth Avenue unscathed.

  • Like 2
Posted
39 minutes ago, keemapoot said:

It really is clear from Trump supporters postings on this board. Trump really could shoot somebody point blank on Fifth Avenue and they would still support him. 

 

It is really clear somebody could sneak into America and shoot people and the left would defend them. It would still be politically incorrect to say illegal immigrant. 

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Posted
49 minutes ago, keemapoot said:

It really is clear from Trump supporters postings on this board. Trump really could shoot somebody point blank on Fifth Avenue and they would still support him. 

Pretty much... ???? 

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Posted
19 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Spoken like a true-blue Trump supporter. Your nonsensical statement is worthy of the master himself.

 

No more nonsensical than the post I replied to. 

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Posted
4 minutes ago, neeray said:

That just goes to show Mr Boon Mee, sad emoji man how misguided Trump supporters really are.

If they condone crime (shooters), that makes them as sick in the head as the man-child himself is.

 

Nobody condoned anything you made a pretty insipid  hypothetical statement and now you actually believe your own nonsense.

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Posted
23 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Nobody condoned anything you made a pretty insipid  hypothetical statement and now you actually believe your own nonsense.

Yeap, I believe what I believe just as about 99% of the members on this forum do.

Events coming soon will prove us right. And the 1% will continue to support man-child when he blames the rest of the world for his failure (or they will go into hiding).

  • Like 2

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