Democrats, Trump meet on shutdown; they says he is resisting

WASHINGTON (AP) — With no shutdown resolution in sight, Democratic leaders urged President Donald Trump to reopen the government Friday in a White House meeting during which they said he indicated he could keep it closed for "months or even years."

Trump met today with the congressional leaders for the second time in three days amid an impasse over Trump's funding demands for his proposed wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats emerged from the lengthy meeting to report little if any progress.

"We told the president we needed the government open. He resisted. In fact, he said he'd keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years," said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The meeting on the 14th day of the shutdown came after House Democrats muscled through legislation to fund the government but not Trump's proposed wall. As the impasse over border funding dragged on, some GOP senators up for re-election in 2020 voiced discomfort.

But Trump dug in ahead of the meeting, writing in a letter to Congress, "Walls work. That's why rich, powerful and successful people build them around their homes."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said even though the new Congress has convened since the last session at the White House, "the basic steps that are needed to end this unfortunate standoff really haven't changed at all."

McConnell has said measures approved by the House are nonstarters on his side of the Capitol without the president's support.

"Any viable compromise will need to carry the endorsement of the president before it receives a vote," he said.