1/13/19
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican senator close to President Donald Trump on Sunday backed a temporary re-opening of the federal government, in the 23rd day of the longest shutdown ever, to allow for talks on a spending agreement that could satisfy Trump’s border security demands. Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he urged the president on Sunday to reopen the government for a limited period to try to get talks going again. If no progress is made, he said, then Trump should declare a national emergency as a way to get money to build his wall, a plan not popular with some fellow Republicans. “Before he pulls the plug on the legislative option, and I think we are almost there, I would urge them to open up the government for a short period of time, like three weeks, before he pulls the plug (to) see if we can get a deal,” Graham said on “Fox News Sunday.” He said Trump told him, “Let’s make a deal, then open up the government.” Democrats hammered away at their demand that Trump reopen the government. Senator Tim Kaine called the wall, which could cost an estimated $23 billion, a “vanity project” that Trump promised Mexico - not U.S. taxpayers - would pay for. “Put an end to the shutdown and put everything on the table,” Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said on ABC’s “This Week” show.