President Trump will meet Monday with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen amid the partial government shutdown over border security funding, the White House said.
The president added a 2 p.m. meeting with Ms. Nielsen and other DHS officials to “discuss border security,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
The meeting underscored the border security fight that led to a partial government shutdown that is now in its third day.
Funding lapsed for about 25 percent of the government, including the Department of Homeland Security, when Senate Democrats bucked Mr. Trump’s demand for $5 billion to build a wall or other barriers on parts of the border with Mexico.
Senate Democrats refused to increase border security funding that has anything to do with a wall, which was one of the president’s top campaign promises.
After the partial shutdown began, the White House made a counteroffer for a funding increase somewhere between the $1.3 billion provided in last year’s budget and the $5 billion figure, White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said Sunday.
Still, both sides signal they are bracing for a shutdown that could last until the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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