WASHINGTON: With the government mired in shutdown week four, President Donald Trump rejected a short-term legislative fix and dug in for more combat Monday, declaring he would “never ever back down.”
Trump rejected a suggestion to reopen the government for several weeks while negotiations would continue with Democrats over his demands for $5.7 billion for a long, impregnable wall along the US-Mexico border. The president also edged further away from the idea of trying to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress.
“I’m not looking to call a national emergency,” Trump said. “This is so simple we shouldn’t have to.”
No cracks were apparent in the president’s deadlock with lawmakers after a weekend with no negotiations at all. His rejection of the short-term option proposed by Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham removed one path forward, and little else was in sight. Congressional Republicans were watching Trump for a signal for how to move next, and Democrats have not budged from their refusal to fund the wall and their demand that he reopen government before border talks resume.
The White House has been considering reaching out to rank-and-file Democrats rather than dealing with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to try and chip away at Democratic opposition to the wall. A White House official said plans were in the works to call freshman representatives, especially those who initially did not support Pelosi’s bid for the speakership.
It was uncertain whether any Democrats would respond to the invitation.
Separately, around a dozen senators from both parties met Monday to discuss ways out of the shutdown gridlock. Participants included Graham and Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Joe Manchin, D-W.Virginia, and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, was aware of the group’s effort but added, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s blessed it.” The odds of the group producing an actual solution without Trump’s approval seemed slim. In the past, centrists of both parties banding together have seldom resolved major partisan disputes.
Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill late Monday “discouraged,” as GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota put it, as all signals pointed to a protracted fight.
Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the GOP chairman of the Appropriations Committee, compared the shutdown saga to the play “Waiting for Godot.”
“And Godot never shows up,” Shelby said. “We could be protracted here for a long time. There’s nobody on the horse coming to rescue us ... that I know about.”
Meanwhile, the impact of the 24-day partial government closure was intensifying around the country. Some 800,000 federal workers missed paychecks Friday, deepening anxieties about mortgage payments and unpaid bills, and about half of them were off the job, cutting off some services. Travelers at the Atlanta airport, the nation’s busiest, dealt with waits of more than an hour Monday as no-shows by security screeners soared.
Trump spent the weekend in the White House reaching out to aides and lawmakers and tweeting aggressively about Democratic foes as he tried to make the case that the wall was needed on both security and humanitarian grounds. He stressed that argument repeatedly during a speech at a farming convention in New Orleans on Monday, insisting there was “no substitute” for a wall or a barrier along the southern border.
Trump has continued to insist he has the power to sign an emergency declaration to deal with what he says is a crisis of drug smuggling and trafficking of women and children at the border. But he now appears to be in no rush to make such a declaration.
Instead, he is focused on pushing Democrats to return to the negotiating table — though he walked out of the most recent talks last week — and seized on the fact that a group of House and Senate Democrats were on a retreat in Puerto Rico. Democrats, he argued, were partying on a beach rather than negotiating — though Pelosi and Schumer were not on the trip.
White House officials cautioned that an emergency order remains on the table. Many inside and outside the White House hold that it may be the best option to end the budget standoff, reopening the government while allowing Trump to tell his base supporters he didn’t cave on the wall.
However, some GOP lawmakers — as well as White House aides— have counseled against it, concerned that an emergency declaration would immediately be challenged in court. Others have raised concerns about re-routing money from other projects, including money Congress approved for disaster aid. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have also warned that acting under an emergency order would set a troubling precedent for executive power.
For now, Trump apparently sees value in his extended fight to fulfill a key campaign pledge, knowing that his supporters — whom he’ll need to turn out in 2020 to win re-election — don’t want to see him back down.
Trump was taking a wide range of advice on both sides of the issue, including from his new chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, senior aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Rep. Mark Meadows, as well as outside political advisers.
In the House, Democrats look to keep the pressure on Trump by holding votes this week on two bills: one that would reopen the government until Feb. 1, and a second that would reopen it until Feb. 28.
Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said the bills offer “additional options” to end the shutdown and would give lawmakers time for negotiations on border security and immigration.
A key question is how long Trump is willing to hold out in hopes of extracting concessions from Democrats.
Recent polling finds a slight majority of Americans opposed to building a wall along the US-Mexico border — and few see the situation at the border as a crisis — but views are predictably divided by partisanship.
Polls also show that Americans are more likely to fault Trump for the shutdown. A large majority of Democrats put responsibility on Trump, while a slightly smaller majority of Republicans blame Democrats. A modest share of Republicans either hold Trump responsible or say both sides are at fault.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll published Jan. 13 found that 54 percent of Americans oppose a wall along the border, while 42 percent express support for it. Fully 87 percent of Republicans favor the wall, compared with about as many Democrats (84 percent) who are opposed.
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Trump declares he’ll ‘never back down’ in shutdown fight
Trump declares he’ll ‘never back down’ in shutdown fight
- US president rejects a short-term legislative fix and digs in for more combat
- White House considers reaching out to rank-and-file Democrats rather than dealing with party leaders to try and chip away at opposition to the wall
Trump endorses Japan’s ‘Iron Lady’ Takaichi ahead of Sunday election
TOKYO: US President Donald Trump gave his “total endorsement” of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of a national election in Japan on Sunday, adding he looked forward to hosting her at the White House next month.
Japan’s first female premier, a conservative who said she draws inspiration from Britain’s “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, was already expected to deliver a solid win for her ruling coalition, according to opinion polls. She is seeking a public mandate for spending plans that have rattled investors, and a defense build-up that could further strain relations with China.
Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, could capture around 300 seats in the 465-seat lower house of parliament, the polls show, well up from the razor-thin majority they now control.
TRUMP’S BACKING A TAILWIND FOR TAKAICHI
“Prime Minister Takaichi is someone who deserves powerful recognition for the job she and her Coalition are doing,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
“It is my Honor to give a Complete and Total Endorsement of her, and what her highly respected Coalition is representing.”
Unlike his predecessors, Trump has increasingly sought to shape foreign elections. Analysts say his backing of Takaichi, 64, a nationalist and defense hawk, fits a growing pattern of aligning with right-wing leaders abroad.
On Thursday, he endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a vote there in April and last year backed Argentine President Javier Milei, highlighting US financial support as a factor in Milei’s 2025 legislative success.
Even though Takaichi already appears poised for a commanding victory, Trump’s endorsement will resonate in Japan, Asuka Tatebayashi, a geopolitical analyst at Mizuho Bank said.
“From the perspective of the business community, improved relations and better recognition by Trump will be seen as a positive,” Tatebayashi said. “And even among the general population, Trump is surprisingly popular in Japan compared to some western countries.”
Japanese government spokesman Kei Sato declined to comment on Trump’s endorsement but confirmed that Trump had invited Takaichi to visit Washington on March 19.
“Amid a rapidly changing international situation, the visit is expected to provide an opportunity to reaffirm the unwavering bonds of the Japan–US alliance,” Sato told a regular press conference.
One of Takaichi’s first engagements after she was elevated to prime minister in October was to host Trump in Tokyo.
She gave him a putter used by his former golfing buddy, the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Lauded by Trump for breaking Japan’s glass ceiling, Takaichi pledged billions of dollars in investments in a meeting analysts said helped underline the strength of the Japan-US alliance.
CHALLENGES WITH CHINA, JITTERY MARKETS
Weeks later, however, she touched off the biggest diplomatic dispute with China in over a decade by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Trump, who is seeking to maintain a fragile trade truce with China, asked Takaichi in a private phone call in November not to further aggravate Beijing, sources told Reuters.
A resounding victory could hand Takaichi new clout in the dispute with China, current and former Japanese officials said, though Beijing has shown no signs of backing down.
Takaichi’s plans to strengthen Japan’s defenses will likely also draw more anger from Beijing, which has cast her endeavours as an attempt to revive Japan’s past militarism.
While the row with China is starting to weigh on the world’s fourth-largest economy, it has hardly dented Takaichi’s high approval ratings. She has even become an unlikely idol for some voters, who have been buying up the bag she carries and the pink pen she scribbles with in parliament.
Markets, however, have been less enamoured with Takaichi lately. Her election promise to help households cope with rising prices by suspending the sales tax on food has shaken investor confidence in an economy with the heaviest debt burden in the world.
In recent weeks, investors have fled Japanese government bonds and sent the yen into crisis mode on concerns about how Tokyo would pay for the estimated 5 trillion yen ($30 billion) hit to annual revenue.
However, with other parties touting deeper tax cuts and broader spending, a comprehensive victory for the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the postwar era, could end up being the least-worst option for financial markets, analysts have said.
The outcome on Sunday may be affected by turnout among young supporters, who have supported Takaichi in large numbers but who tend to vote less than older cohorts. Record snowfall in some parts of Japan could also crimp turnout.
If the polls have it all wrong, and Takaichi loses her majority, she has said she will resign.
Japan’s first female premier, a conservative who said she draws inspiration from Britain’s “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, was already expected to deliver a solid win for her ruling coalition, according to opinion polls. She is seeking a public mandate for spending plans that have rattled investors, and a defense build-up that could further strain relations with China.
Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, could capture around 300 seats in the 465-seat lower house of parliament, the polls show, well up from the razor-thin majority they now control.
TRUMP’S BACKING A TAILWIND FOR TAKAICHI
“Prime Minister Takaichi is someone who deserves powerful recognition for the job she and her Coalition are doing,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
“It is my Honor to give a Complete and Total Endorsement of her, and what her highly respected Coalition is representing.”
Unlike his predecessors, Trump has increasingly sought to shape foreign elections. Analysts say his backing of Takaichi, 64, a nationalist and defense hawk, fits a growing pattern of aligning with right-wing leaders abroad.
On Thursday, he endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a vote there in April and last year backed Argentine President Javier Milei, highlighting US financial support as a factor in Milei’s 2025 legislative success.
Even though Takaichi already appears poised for a commanding victory, Trump’s endorsement will resonate in Japan, Asuka Tatebayashi, a geopolitical analyst at Mizuho Bank said.
“From the perspective of the business community, improved relations and better recognition by Trump will be seen as a positive,” Tatebayashi said. “And even among the general population, Trump is surprisingly popular in Japan compared to some western countries.”
Japanese government spokesman Kei Sato declined to comment on Trump’s endorsement but confirmed that Trump had invited Takaichi to visit Washington on March 19.
“Amid a rapidly changing international situation, the visit is expected to provide an opportunity to reaffirm the unwavering bonds of the Japan–US alliance,” Sato told a regular press conference.
One of Takaichi’s first engagements after she was elevated to prime minister in October was to host Trump in Tokyo.
She gave him a putter used by his former golfing buddy, the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Lauded by Trump for breaking Japan’s glass ceiling, Takaichi pledged billions of dollars in investments in a meeting analysts said helped underline the strength of the Japan-US alliance.
CHALLENGES WITH CHINA, JITTERY MARKETS
Weeks later, however, she touched off the biggest diplomatic dispute with China in over a decade by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Trump, who is seeking to maintain a fragile trade truce with China, asked Takaichi in a private phone call in November not to further aggravate Beijing, sources told Reuters.
A resounding victory could hand Takaichi new clout in the dispute with China, current and former Japanese officials said, though Beijing has shown no signs of backing down.
Takaichi’s plans to strengthen Japan’s defenses will likely also draw more anger from Beijing, which has cast her endeavours as an attempt to revive Japan’s past militarism.
While the row with China is starting to weigh on the world’s fourth-largest economy, it has hardly dented Takaichi’s high approval ratings. She has even become an unlikely idol for some voters, who have been buying up the bag she carries and the pink pen she scribbles with in parliament.
Markets, however, have been less enamoured with Takaichi lately. Her election promise to help households cope with rising prices by suspending the sales tax on food has shaken investor confidence in an economy with the heaviest debt burden in the world.
In recent weeks, investors have fled Japanese government bonds and sent the yen into crisis mode on concerns about how Tokyo would pay for the estimated 5 trillion yen ($30 billion) hit to annual revenue.
However, with other parties touting deeper tax cuts and broader spending, a comprehensive victory for the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the postwar era, could end up being the least-worst option for financial markets, analysts have said.
The outcome on Sunday may be affected by turnout among young supporters, who have supported Takaichi in large numbers but who tend to vote less than older cohorts. Record snowfall in some parts of Japan could also crimp turnout.
If the polls have it all wrong, and Takaichi loses her majority, she has said she will resign.
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