Trump vows announcement on border as talks stall

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump promised a “major announcement” on the government shutdown as he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi headed into a long holiday weekend with no sign their increasingly acrimonious standoff is any closer to an end.
The president plans to renew his demand for a wall on the US border with Mexico, but also offer incentives for congressional Democrats, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Although Trump has hinted that he might declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and fund the wall if other options failed, he was expected to do so on Saturday, according to the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss the announcement beforehand.
The person would not discuss what Trump plans to offer to the Democrats who now control the US House, beyond saying that it may have something to do with immigration.
The Democrats, who have adamantly refused his demands for $5.7 billion for the wall, have called for protections for young immigrants who came to the
US as children and other immigration reforms.
Trump’s tweet previewing the announcement capped three days of dramatic twists in a clash between the president and the speaker that’s become highly personal.
The president blocked Pelosi and a congressional delegation from visiting US troops Afghanistan over the weekend, a day after she said he should postpone his January 29 State of the Union address. Pelosi abandoned an attempt to fly there on commercial flights, saying that administration leaks about the trip endangered the lives of the participants.
“It was very irresponsible on the part of the president,” Pelosi told reporters.
In cancelling the military flight, Trump said he wanted her to remain in Washington to negotiate. But as of Friday, Pelosi’s office had received no White House invitation for further talks, even as Trump moved on other fronts, including scheduling a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the end of February.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on the possibility of Pelosi being invited for meetings over the weekend.
The dispute over the wall led to the impasse, which has closed nine government departments and dozens of agencies since December 22. Democrats are trying to craft their own border security plan that doesn’t include new wall funding, though the White House didn’t indicate any softening of the president’s stance.
“What really has to happen is Nancy Pelosi needs to come back to the White House or send others here who are actually willing to converse and negotiate and come up with the money for border security,” Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said in an appearance on Fox Business Network. “Our doors are open.”
Pelosi said that her party is willing to talk about increased border security money but not to fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to build a 2,000 mile wall.
By coming up with their own proposal, Democrats can inoculate themselves against charges by Trump and his supporters that they’re in favour of open borders.
“We’ve got to say what we’re for, not just what we’re against,” former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential challenger to Trump in 2020, said in an interview in Washington.
“A lot of members are asking what is our plan here,” Roybal-Allard said.