Government shutdown: Trump says 'no substitute' for wall on Mexico border but backs away from declaring national emergency
President says he will 'never ever back down' in fight over border security
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has dismissed a proposal from a key ally in Congress that would end the longest US government shutdown in American history, declaring that he would "never ever back down" over border security..
Twenty-four days into the partial shut down, Mr Trump rejected the idea from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. The Senator had indicated he discussed the option of reopening the government temporarily as negotiations continue with Democrats over their refusal to sanction a demand from the president for $5.7bn to build a wall on the US-Mexico borer.
That idea had seen some support from Democrats, but the president declined to bite.
“I’m not interested,” Mr Trump said on Monday as he made his way to New Orleans, where he gave a speech to a farming convention. “I want it solved. I don’t want to just delay it. I want to get it solved”.
The comment came just hours after the president tweeted that he had been “waiting all weekend” to negotiate with congressional Democrats to reopen the government and that he believed an end could be negotiated in 15 minutes.
Having dismissed that option from Mr Graham while leaving the White House, Mr Trump used his speech in New Orleans to say there was “no substitute” for a physical barrier along the southern border with Mexico.
He also accused Democrats of playing politics in refusing to negotiate on the issue.
“They think if they stop me, it’ll be good for 2020,” Mr Trump said of Democrats in Congress. “We need that barrier. … If you don’t have that barrier there, there is not a thing you can do.”
However, with the shutdown having left 800,000 federal workers without pay, there are signs that Mr Trump is beginning to lose the battle for public opinion.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Monday found that 63 per cent of voters agree with the long-standing Democrat proposal to reopen parts of the government that do not involve border security, with 30 per cent opposed.
The same poll found 63 per cent of respondents also oppose using the shutdown to force wall funding, with 32 per cent supporting Mr Trump's stance.
The poll also found that 56 percent of American voters blame Mr Trump and Republicans in Congress for the partial shutdown.
To see how the day unfolded follow our liveblog below
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As the government shutdown breaks records to become the longest in modern American history, sources have told CNN that Donald Trump doesn’t not plan on budging over his demands for border wall funding to be included in the next spending bill.
"He's not going to budge even 1 inch," a source close to the president reportedly told CNN on Monday.
So far, the president has rejected every agreement made by Democrats and Republicans alike to reopen the government.
Here's the latest from the AP on how Donald Trump refused to support a bipartisan path towards reopening the federal government amid the longest shutdown in modern American history:
President Donald Trump on Monday rejected the suggestion that he temporarily reopen government while negotiations continue on his proposed border wall, signaling no speedy resolution to the partial government shutdown now into a fourth week.
Leaving the White House for a trip to New Orleans, Trump said he had dismissed the proposal from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to reopen for several weeks and continue dealing with Democrats over Trump’s long-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I did reject it, yes,” Trump said. “I’m not interested. I want to get it solved. I don’t want to just delay it.”
As hundreds of thousands of federal workers are left without paychecks amid the federal government shutdown, social media posts reveal Canadian air traffic controllers are helping their US counterparts by sending them pizza at their posts inside airports nationwide.
Donald Trump held a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his flight to Louisiana
Here's a read out on that call, from Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
“President Trump spoke with President Erdogan today. The two leaders discussed several bilateral issues, including ongoing cooperation in Syria as U.S. forces begin to withdraw, and other topics for future cooperation. The President expressed the desire to work together to address Turkey’s security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to defeat ISIS. To continue consultations with Turkey on Syria, General Dunford will meet with his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday".
Government shutdown is hurting travelers in Atlanta
From the Associated Press: Air travelers endured waits of more than an hour to get through domestic checkpoints at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta on Monday, the first business day after security screeners missed paychecks for the first time due to partial government shutdown.
No-shows among screeners across the nation soared Sunday and again Monday, when the Transportation Security Administration reported a national absence rate of 7.6 percent, compared with 3.2 percent on the comparable Monday a year ago.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport reported the long lines on its website Monday morning, showing the hour-plus waits at all three checkpoints in the domestic terminal.
"It's chaos out here," passenger Vincent Smith said as he stood in a line that snaked through the Atlanta airport's atrium and baggage claim areas. "This line, I've been here about 15 minutes and it has moved 2 feet."
TSA is working with the Atlanta airport and airlines "to maximize all available operational resources at the airport," TSA spokesman Jim Gregory said.
The agency is working with airports and airlines nationwide to consolidate operations and get the most out of resources, Gregory added. He declined to provide absentee figures for Atlanta or other airports, saying that would compromise security by exposing possible vulnerabilities.
"Screeners will not do anything to compromise or change their security procedures," he said.
But Smith said he could relate to government workers who don't show up so they can find other ways to make ends meet.
"If I was a government worker, yes, I would probably call in and try to do something else because creditors don't care if you're furloughed or not," Smith said. "They just want to get paid and with a family of six, you have to do what you have to."
Atlanta's wait times stretched well beyond what the TSA says most passengers have encountered since the shutdown began.
TSA said that it screened 1.97 million people on Sunday and that 99.1 percent waited less than 30 minutes, and 93.1 percent less than 15 minutes. Precheck lines for people who pay a fee for expedited screening averaged less than five minutes, TSA said.
A combination of a busy Monday travel day combined with some security lines being closed led to the long lines, airport spokesman Andrew Gobeil said. He said he didn't know how many security lines were down.
A statement from TSA attributed the long waits in Atlanta to "anticipated high volume."
Across the country, airports are making changes to deal with the shortage of screeners.
Miami International Airport closed one of its concourses for part of Saturday and Sunday, shifting about a dozen afternoon and evening flights each day to other concourses so that TSA workers could adequately staff the other checkpoints. Airport spokesman Greg Chin said TSA was staffing the Concourse G checkpoint on Monday, but airport officials were monitoring the situation and would make more adjustments if necessary.
Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport closed one terminal Sunday afternoon and it remained shuttered Monday morning, according to an airport spokesman.
The terminal handles United Express flights, which were being moved to other terminals. A spokesman for United Airlines said flights were not affected.
In Atlanta, Monday's long wait times come with less than three weeks remaining before the city hosts one of the world's biggest sporting events. Super Bowl 53 on Feb. 3 is expected to bring hordes of travelers to Atlanta for the game and days of concerts and related events.
"We're confident that we will be as efficient and as welcoming as people expect the city of Atlanta to be here at Hartsfield-Jackson for the Super Bowl," Gobeil said.
Who is with the president in Louisiana today?
According to the pool report from reporters traveling with the president, Mr Trump was greeted upon arriving in Louisiana by several Republican members of the state delegation. They gave him a boxed King Cake, which is a festive cake baked in Louisiana to mark the Epiphany.
“Say hello to the press, they’re wonderful people," Mr Trump told supporters as he passed by at the airport.
Here is who the White House says will be in attendance at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th Annual Convention in New Orleans today:
From the Trump Administration:
Secretary Sonny Perdue, Department of Agriculture
Members of Congress:
Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy
Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise
Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves
Louisiana Congressman Ralph Abraham
External Participants;
Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
Kalena Bruce, Farmer, Missouri
Jim Chilton, Rancher, Arizona
Cris Peterson, Farmer, Wisconsin
Val Wagner, Farmer, North Dakota
Trump takes time to congratulate college football champs amid shutdown
From the Associated Press: Donald Trump will pay tribute to Clemson for winning the national championship with a White House ceremony Monday evening.
Mr Trump said on his way to Louisiana that the menu could include McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King as well as pizza. He says, "I would think that's their favorite food."
The visit by the Clemson football team will be its second since Mr Trump has become president. The Tigers last visited in June 2017 after their championship run the previous season.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has nominated this season's undefeated Tigers as the best college team ever. Trump calls them a "great team, an unbelievable team".
Trump has routinely sparred with professional athletes during his two years in office. College football has managed to avoid such political controversies with last year's champion Alabama also visiting the White House.
Trump is speaking now in New Orleans, and is promising broadband for farmers and deregulation
The president has said that rural America will now get broadband internet service, which he said will help farmers out.
After noting the broadband expansion he says is coming, Mr Trump said that just a year ago he and Republicans passed a massive tax reconfiguration.
Then, Mr Trump bragged that he cut back on regulatory protections.
"We're saving farmers and ranchers form one of the most ridiculous regulations ever imposed ... the Waters of the United States rule," Mr Trump said to applause. "Other than the title — such a beautiful title — it was a total kill on farmers, on builders, on everybody".
Trump says he 'should' have bad approval ratings in Europe.
The president is mocking press coverage that he is not well liked in Europe, noting that he is not the leader of a European country.
Mr Trump said as much while explaining that he is fine with provoking China and Europe on trade, because he does not need to appease the citizens of that country.
"We do the right deal with China, you're talking about massive ... they're already back ordering, right?" Mr Trump said while promoting trade deals he is pursuing.
Trump mentions Texas and Idaho, saying US exports from those countries are up
Interestingly, Idaho — a small state population-wise that rarely gets mentioned by federal politicians —is one of the 10 states most impacted by the ongoing partial government shutdown.
He also mentioned Montana, which is similarly a small state.
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