The Latest: Trump cancels New Year’s plans amid shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the partial government shutdown (all times local):
10:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump has canceled his New Year’s plans and will not be traveling to Florida amid of a partial government shutdown that is expected to continue into the new year.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney says during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News Channel that the president was in D.C. “all weekend, all Christmas” and is “staying in Washington D.C. over New Year’s.”
Trump canceled a planned trip last week to his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he usually spends the holidays and many winter weekends.
Mar-a-Lago typically hosts a large, ticketed New Years’ Eve party for dues paying members and their guests. In past years guests have included romance novel cover model Fabio and actor Sylvester Stallone.
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9:10 a.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump and Democrats are “far apart” on reaching an agreement on ending a partial government shutdown, indicating it could continue for some time.
Press secretary Sarah Sanders tells CBS Friday of Democrats: “They’ve left the table all together, so of course we are far apart.”
Incoming acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney complained that Democrats were ignoring an offer from the White House to agree to lower funding levels compared to Trump’s initial goal of $5 billion to build the wall. Mulvaney said the offer was made on Saturday, but Democrats are no longer considering that option.
Mulvaney says: “There’s not a single Democrat talking to the president of the United States about this deal.”
Mulvaney adds of the shutdown: “We do expect this to go on for a while.”
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8:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump is threatening to close the U.S. border with Mexico if Democrats in Congress don’t agree to fund the construction of a border wall.
Trump tweeted Friday morning that “We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely,” unless a funding deal is reached with “the Obstructionist Democrats.”
Trump’s demand for money to build the border wall and Democrats’ refusal to give him what he wants has caused a partial government shutdown that is nearly a week old. Congress adjourned for the week without a resolution in sight.
The shutdown is idling hundreds of thousands of federal workers and beginning to pinch citizens who count on some public services.
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1 a.m.
It’s looking increasingly as if the partial government shutdown will be handed off to a divided government to solve. This, as agreement eludes Washington in the waning days of the Republican monopoly on power.
Now nearly a week old, the impasse is idling hundreds of thousands of federal workers and beginning to pinch citizens who count on varied public services.
For example, the government says it won’t issue new federal flood insurance policies or renew expiring ones until the budget for them is restored.
Congress is closing out the week without a resolution in sight over the issue holding up an agreement — Trump’s demand for money to build a border wall with Mexico and Democrats’ refusal to give him what he wants.
