White House and Dems are “far apart” on shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump and Democrats are “far apart” on reaching an agreement on ending a partial government shutdown, indicating it could continue for some time.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders tells CBS Friday of Democrats: “They’ve left the table all together, so of course we are far apart.”

Incoming acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney complained that Democrats were ignoring an offer from the White House to agree to lower funding levels compared to Trump’s initial goal of $5 billion to build the wall. Mulvaney said the offer was made on Saturday, but Democrats are no longer considering that option.

Mulvaney says: “There’s not a single Democrat talking to the president of the United States about this deal.”

Mulvaney adds of the shutdown: “We do expect this to go on for a while.”