Donald Trump says government shutdown if no funds for border wall

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he expects to reach an agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown next month and address the president’s demands for funds for a border wall.

President Donald Trump said Saturday it is a good time to shut down the government to gain leverage with Democrats to fund his demands for a wall along the US border with Mexico.

Soldiers from the Kentucky-based 19th Engineer Battalion work in a public park in Laredo, Texas, where they are installing barbed and concertina-wire on November 17, 2018. (AFP Photo)

“This would be a very good time to do a shutdown,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to California. “I don’t think it’s going to be necessary, because I think the Democrats will come to their senses, and if they don’t come to their senses, we will continue to win elections.”

Trump suggested coverage of a “caravan” of Central American migrants making its way north in Mexico added to his leverage. “I think probably if I was ever going to do a shutdown over border security -- when you look at the caravan, when you look at the mess,” Trump said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he expects to reach an agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown next month and address the president’s demands for funds for a border wall.

Funding is set to end Dec. 7 for some federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Park Service. Congress already passed full-year funding for many other federal agencies, meaning they would remain open.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tamara Thueringer in Washington at tthueringer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning, Alister Bull

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