Trump used his Oval speech to bluntly demand the Congress to provide USD 5.7B funding to build the border wall. Trump questioned “How much more American blood must be shed before Congress does its job?” and pointed to the numbers of crimes committed by illegal immigrants. But he didn’t declare national emergency to use military funds for the wall.
Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi responded and said “The president has chosen fear. We want to start with the facts”. She added “The fact is, President Trump has chosen to hold hostage critical services for the health, safety and well-being of the American people and withhold the paychecks of 800,000 innocent workers across the nation, many of them veterans.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said “The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a 30-foot wall”. And, “So our suggestion is a simple one. Mr. President: Reopen the government and we can work to resolve our differences over border security. But end this shutdown now.”
So, overall, there is no sign of a breakthrough regarding the shutdown yet, which is already in it’s third week.
