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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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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The government shutdown has made it a nightmare for travelers waiting in long TSA lines at some of America's busiest airports.
Senior Democrats, including Senator Mark Warner, are continuing to criticise Trump administration officials over their response to the shutdown.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval of aircraft such as Boeing's MAX and new routes like Southwest Airline Co's Hawaii launch are on hold due to the US government shutdown.
The FAA said it is constrained by law about what it can do during a shutdown and was allocating resources based on risk assessment to meet all safety-critical functions.
"Our focus is to maintain our system's high level of safety for existing operations and aircraft fleet," FAA spokesman Greg Martin said.
The number of airport security screeners not showing up for work continued to rise since the start of the disruption. Most Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers were required to report to work but they are not being paid due to a lack of funds.
TSA spokesman Michael Bilello said TSA had a 7.6 per cent unscheduled absence rate nationally, compared to a 3.2 per cent rate a year ago.
Many security officers “are understandably looking for other work to make ends meet", House of Representatives Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska, said the impasse over the shutdown is “just not good for any of us,” she said.
Asked about President Trump rejecting a three-week bill to open government, Ms Murkowski told CNN, “Well, then Mr. President when are you going to help us open the government?”
Ms Murkowski is among at least three Republican senators who suggested they would break with Mr Trump's wishes and support appropriations bills put forward by Democrats that do not include funding for a wall.
Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein is one of a number of senators to send a letter to Donald trump today calling on him to open the government so that preparations can be made to tackle wildfires.
Air travellers endured waits of more than an hour to get through domestic checkpoints at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta on Monday.
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 two feet."
Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), declined a top House Democrat's request for an emergency briefing on the wireless industry's data collection practices amid reports about the availability of real-time location information.
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr said on Monday that Mr Pai's staff told him the shutdown prevented the agency from conducting such a briefing for Congress because the issue does not constitute a "threat to the safety of human life or property."
Mr Trump is now back at the White House, where he will meet with the national championship-winning Clemson Tigers American football team.
Here is some video of some of the queues at a terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
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