Trump will ‘absolutely’ shut down government to build border wall, says top White House aide

Comments come after seven-year-old migrant girl died in custody of border agents

Donald Trump is “absolutely” willing to shut down the government in order to get funding for a wall on the US border with Mexico, a top White House aide has said.

Days after the president sparked outcry when he told Democrats during a dramatic Oval Office meeting he would be “proud” to do so, the White House doubled down on Mr Trump’s position, apparently pushing the federal government closer to the brink of a partial shutdown later this week

“We will do whatever is necessary to build the border wall to stop this ongoing crisis of immigration,” said White House senior adviser Stephen Miller.

Asked if that meant shutting down some federal agencies, he replied: “If it comes to it, absolutely.”

The comments of Mr Miller, a hardliner on immigration issues, come days after Mr Trump met with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate respectively. In scenes in the Oval Office perhaps never witnessed before by the public, the president angrily said he would be proud to shut down the government to ensure he received funding for a border wall.

“I will be the one to shut [the government] down,” said Mr Trump, as vice president Mike Pence sat in silence. “I’m proud to shut down the government for border security.”

The president’s comments came as news broke that a seven-year-old migrant had died of while in the custody of US border agents. On Saturday, representatives for the parents of the Guatemalan child Jakelin Caal, disputed earlier reports that she was dehydrated and said she was healthy before being taken into the custody of the US Border Patrol.

Ruben Garcia, founder and executive director of Annunciation House, an El Paso-based charity that helps migrants, said the girl’s father, 29-year-old Nery Caal, said she was healthy and had no pre-existing conditions.

“He’s been very clear, very consistent that his daughter was healthy, and his daughter very much wanted to come with him,” Mr Garcia said during a news conference, according to The Washington Post. The family has asked for a full investigation.

Mr Trump has threatened a shutdown if he does not receive $5bn in congressional funding build a wall on the US-Mexico border. He does not currently have sufficient votes from the Republican-controlled congress for that level of spending.

Rather, Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer have proposed up to $1.6bn, as part of a bipartisan Senate bill. The money would not go for the wall but for fencing upgrades and other border security, the Associated Press said.

“At stake is the question of whether or not the United States remains a sovereign country,“ Mr Miller told CBS News. ”Whether or not we can establish and enforce rules for entrance into our country. The Democratic Party has a simple choice, they can either choose to fight for America’s working class or to promote illegal immigration. You can’t do both.”

Meanwhile, Mr Schumer, speaking to NBC News, said: “If the president wants to debate the wall next year he can. I don’t think he’ll get it, but I don’t think he should use innocent workers as hostages for his temper tantrum to sort of throw a bone to his base.”