US Shutdown continues as negotiations COLLAPSE – ‘We will NOT pay for your wall’

Trump is demanding $5 billion to pay for a wall along the US-Mexico border. However, the Senate is currently refusing to give its assent. Around 800,000 federal employees have been caught up in the dispute, with 420,000 currently working without pay.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives met on Thursday, but agreement to end the dispute could not be reached.

Congressman Mark Meadows, a Republican House member and Trump ally, told CNN that negotiations “have not progressed” over the past 48 hours.

He warned: “At this point, it looks like we could be in for a very long-term shutdown”.

The dispute began after Trump demanded a federal funding bill provide $5billion for wall construction.

This demand was accepted by the House, but rejected by the Senate where some Democrat support would be needed to pass the bill.

READ MORE: Massive US ‘SHUTDOWN’ over border wall funding row BEGINS 

The President is refusing to sign any financial bill which doesn’t provide the money.

As a result around 20 percent of the federal government is currently without funding.

The Senate is due to continue debating the federal funding bill on January 2.

However getting the bill approved could get even harder for Trump, as the Democrats are due to gain control of the House next month when the results of the 2018 mid-term elections are implemented.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi vowed that her party would not fund “the President’s immoral, ineffective and expensive wall”.

READ MORE: Melania Trump CANCELS Christmas plans to rush back to White House

White House press spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump would continue refusing to sign “a proposal that does not first prioritise our country’s safety and security”.

The US Office of Personal Management (OPM) has provided sample letters for Government workers to send to landlords and mortgage companies.

One states: “I am a Federal employee who has recently been furloughed due to a lack of funding of my agency.

“Because of this my income has been severely cut and I am unable to pay the entire cost of my mortgage, along with my other expenses.”

Trump’s vow to build a wall along the US-Mexico border formed a key part of his campaign during the 2016 Presidential election.