The US Government shutdown, now rolling on for more than three weeks, is the longest in American history. The shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of public workers unpaid and government offices closed. The root of the shutdown is the budget and whether Donald Trump will manage to receive funding for his border wall with Mexico.
Now, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is close to Mr Trump, said a limited re-opening of a few weeks would allow talks to resume between Republicans and Democrats.
Mr Trump is refusing to approve a budget unless it includes $5.7bn (£4.5bn) for the wall, a key component of the presidential campaign and one he swore Mexico would pay for.
But Democrats, who now control the House of Representatives after 2018’s midterm elections, have rejected his request for funding to build it.
Democrats insist they will not negotiate further until the government is reopened.
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Mr Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency which would allow him to circumvent Congress and take the money he wants.
But it seems those supporting Mr Trump are keen for a resolution which avoids a state of emergency.
Mr Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he had urged the president on Sunday to temporarily reopen government to get negotiations started again.
He said if talks still failed to agree to the funding, the White House could then declare a national emergency.
Mr Graham told Fox News on Sunday: “Before he pulls the plug on the legislative option, and I think we are almost there, I would urge them to open up the government for a short period of time, like three weeks, before he pulls the plug.”
He said Mr Trump had told him: “Let’s make a deal, then open up the government.”
While the political mudslinging continues, scores are feeling the pinch, with about a quarter of the federal government out of operation.
Last Friday it was reported some 800,000 employees missed their first salaries of the year.
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About 350,000 of those workers are furloughed – a type of temporary lay-off – but the rest are expected to continue to work.
Thousands have reportedly applied for unemployment benefits amid the financial uncertainty.
Over the weekend, part of Miami International airport was closed because of a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents caused by the shutdown.
On Sunday evening, Houston Bush airport stopped security screening at one of its terminals, due to a shortage of staff, and directed passengers to other terminals for security checks.
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Mr Trump continues to point the finger at Democrats for the continued deadlock.
On Sunday, he tweeted: “I’m in the White House, waiting. The Democrats are everywhere but Washington as people await their pay. They are having fun and not even talking!”
However, opinion polls are showing the public blame Mr Trump more than the Democrats for the ongoing crisis.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week found that 51 percent of adults believe Trump “deserves most of the blame” for the shutdown.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English throughout the United States, gathering responses from 2,203 adults, including 722 Republicans and 867 Democrats.