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Donald Trump Says Government Shutdown ‘Hopefully’ Won’t Last Long

By Sarah Batool Haider
Published on: 17:36 PST, Dec 21, 2018

President Donald Trump said on Friday evening that the government was “heading towards a partial shutdown,” but added that it is the responsibility of the Democrats to bring an end to the funding lapse.

In a video released shortly after the House and Senate adjourned without reaching a deal to a stop the shutdown from happening, President Trump said the following.

“Call it a Democrat shutdown, call it whatever you want. Let’s work together, let’s be bipartisan and let’s get it done. The shutdown hopefully will not last long.”

According to a report by The Hill, lawmakers have been divided over Donald Trump’s proposal that they provide billions of dollars to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Per the details provided by the report on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner were sent to Capitol Hill in an attempt to secure a deal so that things could move forward.

The three White House officials met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Per the report, Vice President Mike Pence and Mick Mulvaney then met other lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Majority Whip Steve Scalise, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, and Rep. Jim Jordan, in outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan’s office.

In the video, President Trump reminded the public that the United States is being infiltrated by violent, criminal gangs through its southern border and called for the Senate to approve the bill that House Republicans have passed. The proposed bill will fund the rest of the government, including $5 billion to build the proposed wall at the border, the report said.

“Our great country must have border security. We don’t want people coming in who aren’t supposed to be here. It’s very dangerous out there. Drugs are pouring in. Now it’s up to the Senate, and it’s really up to the Democrats, because we need their vote. We’re going to have a shutdown — there’s nothing we can do about that.”

Earlier on Friday, President Trump also insisted that the Democrats are to be blamed for the potential shutdown.

Democratic leaders, on the other hand, said that the only one to blame for the potential shutdown is Trump himself “after he said during a meeting with top Democrats that he could carry the ‘mantle’ of a shutdown over his border wall,” the report said.

Per the report, the funding for roughly 25 percent of the federal government will expire overnight. Lawmakers, however, have indicated that they will continue to make progress on the deal on Saturday. Senators have also said that they will only vote on another funding bill if it’s supported by both the White House and the Democrats.

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