Thu | Apr 25, 2024

Shutdown chance looms as wall negotiations in US continue

Published:Sunday | February 10, 2019 | 12:00 AM
AP File
In this July 11, 2018, file photo Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and director of the Office of Management, listens during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is not ruling out another government shutdown, as lawmakers continue to negotiate funding for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.

In Sunday talk show appearances on NBC's "Meet the Press" and "Fox News Sunday," acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said "you absolutely cannot" rule out the possibility that the government may shutter again on Friday. But Mulvaney also said that Trump was willing to explore funding alternatives.

The president has asked for US$5.7 billion. Talks are centred around far less, around US$1.6 billion. Mulvaney said that if Congress approves a lesser amount, Trump could make up the difference from elsewhere in the government or, if needed, the president could declare a national emergency.