The Trump administration said Monday that the country “could sustain” another government shutdown, as Congress begins talks on trying to avert one by striking a deal on border wall money.
Congressional negotiators scheduled a Wednesday meeting for the first public round of negotiations, moving quickly to capitalize on the agreement reached last week to end the monthlong shutdown. That deal funded the shuttered parts of the federal government for three weeks, giving all sides space to talk about the president’s demands.
Democrats said the key to success will be keeping Mr. Trump at arm’s length.
“In the past, when the president has stayed out of it, when the president has given Congress room, we have been repeatedly able to forge bipartisan agreements,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer.
Mr. Trump over the weekend told The Wall Street Journal he sees the chances of a wall deal at less than 50-50, suggesting he’ll likely face a decision eventually over whether to trigger emergency powers.
“If they don’t come back with a deal, the Democrats get virtually nothing. That will make the president — force him — to have to take executive action,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The conference will take place in a basement room on the House side of the Capitol that usually hosts party caucus meetings. Among the 10 House lawmakers and seven senators are some of the Democrats’ most liberal-leaning lawmakers, while Republicans countered with a more moderate slate of negotiators when it comes to immigration matters.
The White House cast the negotiations as the last chance for Congress to deliver on Mr. Trump’s demands for better border security.
The president showed a willingness to negotiate during the shutdown, though Mrs. Sanders wouldn’t say where the White House’s red lines are.
She wouldn’t say whether the president’s $5.7 billion figure is still the goal, nor would she rule out ending up in another government shutdown, though she said the way to avoid that is for Democrats to negotiate in good faith.
“We don’t want another government shutdown. We want a deal that actually addresses border security,” she said.
She did say, though, that the economy would not be devastated by another stoppage.
“If we had to, we could sustain that, but we don’t want to. That’s not the goal,” she said.
Mrs. Sanders insisted the White House will play a roll in the congressional negotiations, but Mr. Schumer was angling to keep Mr. Trump’s involvement to a minimum.
Mr. Schumer, who just months ago offered $1.6 billion in border wall funding, now calls that an “ineffective” solution for illegal drugs, which Democrats have focused on far more than illegal immigration.
“Since so many of the drugs come through the ports of entry, a wall will do no good at all. But strengthening those ports of entry is vital,” Mr. Schumer said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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