I want to see ‘something happen’ on border security

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

President Donald Trump speaks during an interview in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

With less than 12 hours to go before a partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump was running out of ways to force Congress to fund his $5 billion border wall.

Chances were ‘very good’ for a government shutdown at midnight, Trump said following a last minute Oval Office meeting with Republican senators.

“It’s totally up to the Democrats as to whether or not” there is a shutdown, he added. “We are going to be working very hard to get something passed in the Senate.”

Late Thursday, the House passed a spending bill that contained the border wall funding that Trump demanded. The bill was dead on arrival in the Senate, however, where 60 votes are needed in order to bring a bill to a final vote.

Speaking on the Senate floor Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer left little doubt as to where his caucus stood on the bill. “Mr. President, you are not getting your wall today, next week or on January 3rd,” he said.

Nonetheless, Trump attempted to pin blame for the shutdown on Democrats. “Now it’s up to the Democrats as to whether or not we have a shutdown tonight,” he said.

Republicans in the Senate planned to put the doomed spending bill on the floor for a vote on Friday afternoon.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.