On Tuesday, President Donald Trump told Democratic leaders at the White
House that he will shut down the US government because they refuse to
approve billions of dollars in funding for his controversial Mexico
border wall. The president and top opposition congressional leaders
were meant to hold a reassuring Oval Office photo-op. Instead, their
blazing row in front of the world’s media gave a glimpse of the dire
challenges confronting Trump as he reels from legal scandals and the new
reality of his Republican party no longer controlling Congress. Chuck
Schumer, the senior Democrat in the still Republican-dominated Senate,
and Nancy Pelosi, who is likely to become speaker in the newly
Democrat-controlled House in January, bluntly told Trump that he had no
chance of getting the $5 billion he wants for the wall. Then President
Trump also doubled down on earlier threats to retaliate by refusing to
sign a federal spending bill required by December 21 to avoid leaving
swaths of the government without funding. “Yes, if we don’t get what
we want one way or the other, I will shut down the government. I am
proud to shut down the government for border security” Trump saidPresident Trump threatens to shut down US government if opposition congressional leaders fail to fund the border wall
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump told Democratic leaders at the White
House that he will shut down the US government because they refuse to
approve billions of dollars in funding for his controversial Mexico
border wall. The president and top opposition congressional leaders
were meant to hold a reassuring Oval Office photo-op. Instead, their
blazing row in front of the world’s media gave a glimpse of the dire
challenges confronting Trump as he reels from legal scandals and the new
reality of his Republican party no longer controlling Congress. Chuck
Schumer, the senior Democrat in the still Republican-dominated Senate,
and Nancy Pelosi, who is likely to become speaker in the newly
Democrat-controlled House in January, bluntly told Trump that he had no
chance of getting the $5 billion he wants for the wall. Then President
Trump also doubled down on earlier threats to retaliate by refusing to
sign a federal spending bill required by December 21 to avoid leaving
swaths of the government without funding. “Yes, if we don’t get what
we want one way or the other, I will shut down the government. I am
proud to shut down the government for border security” Trump said
