Trump: The Government Will Remain Shut Down as Long as Democrats Oppose the Wall

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, warned on Tuesday, December 25, that the partial shutdown of the federal government will continue until his demand for funding to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico is met. A part of the federal government has been shut down since Saturday, and there has been no significant progress in resolving the budget dispute between the Democrats and Donald Trump's administration regarding the wall. Mr. Trump, speaking via video conference to American troops abroad on Christmas Day, stated: 'I can't tell you when the government will reopen.' He added: 'I can tell you that government agencies will not reopen until we have a wall or a barrier, or whatever they want to call it. I will call it whatever they want, but they are essentially the same. It is a barrier against people pouring into the country, a barrier against drugs coming in.' The U.S. President then noted: 'If the wall is not built, the government will not reopen.' The budget for about a quarter of federal programs, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Agriculture, expires at midnight on Friday. If an agreement to break this deadlock is not reached, the government shutdown will extend into the new year. The wall's construction is one of Donald Trump's main promises from his presidential campaign, but the Democrats oppose it. The Democrats argue that instead of building a wall, border security can be improved through enhanced technological equipment. Donald Trump rejects this argument. In his remarks on Tuesday, he reiterated that only through a wall can the flow of human trafficking and drug smuggling into the U.S. be stopped. Mr. Trump stated: 'We cannot do this without building a barrier. We cannot do this without a wall.' The U.S. President claims that $5.7 billion is needed to build the wall. However, on Tuesday, reports emerged citing Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director, stating that the Trump administration recently made a new proposal to Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate. According to these reports, the new proposal from the government is a budget between Trump's requested $5.7 billion and the Democrats' proposed $1.3 billion. Mr. Mulvaney did not provide further details, but the Associated Press reported, citing Democratic advisors, that the White House's new proposal is $2.5 billion. Mick Mulvaney added that he is awaiting Mr. Schumer's response. The House of Representatives has also approved the wall budget proposal, but progress in the Senate has stalled. Mr. Trump previously stated in a meeting with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, that he takes pride in the government shutdown.