Pence, White House and Hill aides meet amid shutdown impasse

Jan. 5, 2019 / 7:16 PM GMT

By Rebecca Shabad

WASHINGTON — White House and congressional negotiators met Saturday as the partial government shutdown entered its third week.

The largely staff-level meeting, which did not include President Trump or key congressional leaders, lasted more than two hours in the vice president’s ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

The discussion took place following news this week that at least two Republican senators facing tough re-election races in 2020 — Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Susan Collins of Maine — have publicly broken with the president, calling for the government to re-open despite the lack of an agreement to fund the president’s request for a border wall.

Jan. 5, 201902:37

Saturday’s session was led by administration officials including Vice President Mike Pence, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, with acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and legislative affairs director Shahira Knight in attendance, following a sitdown in the White House Situation Room for what aides described as a “pre-briefing.”

Staff for top congressional leaders also attended the meeting including aides to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump tweeted Saturday morning that Democrats could solve the shutdown in a “very short period of time.”

“I am in the White House ready to go, where are the Dems?” he tweeted shortly before the day’s scheduled discussion began next door.

The Democrats could solve the Shutdown problem in a very short period of time. All they have to do is approve REAL Border Security (including a Wall), something which everyone, other than drug dealers, human traffickers and criminals, want very badly! This would be so easy to do!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2019

I don’t care that most of the workers not getting paid are Democrats, I want to stop the Shutdown as soon as we are in agreement on Strong Border Security! I am in the White House ready to go, where are the Dems?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2019

Trump threatened Friday to keep the government shutdown “months or even years” if Congress does not pass funding for his border wall. He also warned that he’s considering declaring a national emergency in order to build the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

After Democrats took control of the House Thursday, they passed two spending bills aimed at ending the shutdown that began Dec. 22. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will not bring the measures up in the Senate because Trump has said he would veto them.