Trump lays out fast food as government shutdown drags on

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The longest such shutdown in U.S. history dragged into its 25th day with neither Trump nor Democratic congressional leaders showing signs of bending on the topic that triggered it – funding for a wall Trump promised to build along the border with Mexico.

Trump insists Congress shell out 5.7 billion U.S. dollars for wall funding this year, as about 800,000 federal workers go unpaid during the partial shutdown. He has refused to support legislation providing money for a range of agencies to operate until he gets the wall funds.

With the shutdown dragging on, federal courts will run out of operating funds on January 25 and face “serious disruptions” if the shutdown continues, according to a court statement.

Rep. Rodney Davis speaks to reporters flanked by several fellow Republican members of Congress after meeting with President Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., January 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Internal Revenue Service said it planned to bring more than 46,000 furloughed workers back to their jobs as the agency enters its peak season of processing tax returns and refunds.

Trump invited a bipartisan group of lawmakers for lunch to discuss the standoff, but the White House said Democrats turned down the invitation. Nine House of Representatives Republicans, none of whom are involved in party leadership, attended.

House Democratic leaders said they did not tell members to boycott Trump's lunch but had pressed those invited to consider whether the talks would be merely a photo-op for Trump.

Separately, a bipartisan group of senators explored solutions. Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican participant, told reporters in a Capitol hallway that the group had “momentum,” but gave no details.

A snow-covered closed sign is seen at the National Archives as the partial federal government shutdown enters its 24th day, in Washington, D.C., January 14, 2019. /VCG Photo

Senator Joe Manchin, a Democratic participant, said: “Anything can be part of the negotiations.”

Lawmakers were supposed to be in their districts and states next week after Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but the House and Senate planned to cancel the recess if the shutdown persists.

While the shutdown hit about one-quarter of federal operations, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday found that nearly four in 10 U.S. adults said they were either affected by the impasse or know someone who is. Fifty-one percent of those polled blamed Trump for the shutdown.

Burgers by candlelight

On Monday, Trump laid out a fast food feast – silver platters heaped high with McDonald's quarter pounders and the red-and-white burger wrappers of Wendy's – for the visiting Clemson Tigers, winners of the U.S. college football championship at the White House, as he pronounced to be "great American food."

Members of the Clemson Tigers football team prepare to dine on fast food served by President Trump to celebrate their championship at the White House in Washington, D.C., January 14, 2019. /VCG Photo

White House chefs normally would serve much fancier fare underneath the stern gaze of the portrait of Abraham Lincoln in the State Dining Room. But they are furloughed, staying home without paychecks as Trump fights with Congress over funding the federal government.

“We have pizzas, we have 300 hamburgers, many, many french fries, all of our favorite foods,” Trump told reporters, as one White House worker still on the job lit tapered candles.

Members of the Clemson Tigers football team prepare to dine on fast food served by President Trump to celebrate their championship at the White House in Washington, D.C., January 14, 2019. /VCG Photo

“I want to see what's here when we leave, because I don't think it's going to be much,” Trump said, before the players, dressed in dapper suits, flooded the room and piled their plates high.

Trump told the players afterward that he did not want to postpone the event until after the shutdown – which is already the longest in history – ended.

Source(s): Reuters