Trump: Chances to avoid another government closure are low

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U.S. President Donald Trump expressed skepticism on Sunday that U.S. lawmakers seeking to avoid another government shutdown could reach a deal on border security that he would accept, as he renewed his vow to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said chances were low that Congress could craft an agreement and avoid another closure of part of the U.S. government in three weeks' time when funding will expire.

"I personally think it's less than 50-50, but you have a lot of very good people on that board," the president said, referring to the committee of lawmakers appointed to work out a compromise on border security funding.

Another shutdown, Trump told the Wall Street Journal, was "certainly an option."

Trump has also said he might declare a national emergency in order to build his border wall. Democrats would likely challenge that in court.

"Does anybody really think I won't build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.

Twitter screenshot

Democratic resistance to Republican Trump's demand for 5.7 billion U.S. dollars for a border wall resulted in a 35-day shutdown of about a fourth of the U.S. government, a closure that just ended on Friday.

After opinion polls showed Americans increasingly blamed Trump for the situation, the president signed a measure on Friday to fund the government for three weeks as congressional negotiators try to work out a bill to fully fund the agencies through September 30.

But Trump also threatened to resume the shutdown on February 15 if he does not get what he wants.

(Cover: U.S. President Donald Trump announces plans to reopen the federal government through February 15, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Washington, January 25, 2019. /VCG Photo )

Source(s): Reuters