Trump Says Shutdown Will Continue Until His Border Wall Demand Is Met

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WASHINGTON (CBS NEWS) – As the government remains partially closed through the holidays, President Trump said the impasse in budget negotiations will continue until his $5 billion demand for border wall funding is met. He spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Christmas morning.

“I can’t tell you when the government is going to reopen,” Mr. Trump said after hosting a video conference call with U.S. troops stationed overseas to thank them for their service. “I can tell you it’s not going to reopen until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they’d like to call it. I’ll call it whatever they want, but it’s all the same thing.”

I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas. We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete. Democrats must end Shutdown and finish funding. Billions of Dollars, & lives, will be saved!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

Asked about the hundreds of thousands of federal employees working without pay or furloughed during the shutdown, the president said workers want the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. “I think they understand what’s happening. They want border security. The people of this country want border security,” he said, adding, “The only ones who don’t are Democrats.”

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