In lieu of concrete wall, Trump suggests steel fence along border

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, on the 16th day of the partial government shutdown, said he was willing to compromise on the composition of his proposed border wall, favoring steel over concrete, but he is not willing to lower his $5.6 billion request for funding.

“They don't like concrete so we'll give them steel,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to Democrats’ opposition to his proposed wall along the U.S. and Mexico border.

The president also repeated that he was “looking” at the possibility of declaring a national emergency to expedite his demands for the construction of a southern border wall but did not answer questions about how the wall would be financed, if such a declaration were made from the executive branch of government.

Trump’s remarks came as Vice President Mike Pence and aides to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met for the second day in row without reaching a deal that would end the shutdown.

Before the meeting, Trump told reporters he didn’t “expect to have anything happen” at the session but hours later described the talks where no agreement was reached as “productive.”

“I think we’re going to have some very serious talks come Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” Trump said before heading to Camp David for a previously planned retreat with White House staff and advisors.

A Democratic official familiar with Sunday's negotiation session said no progress was made, citing the Trump administration's failure to provide “a full budget justification” requested a day earlier by Democrats that would outline how the money would be spent. The official said the White House did not offer proposed cuts to the Department of Homeland Security budget that could offset the $5 billion Trump was seeking for the wall.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, making the Sunday political talk show rounds, pressed for a quick resolution to the impasse as national parks and museums remained shuttered and nearly 800,000 federal employees were working without pay or furloughed.

Democrats, who now control the U.S. House, have been urging Trump to sign off on a deal that would immediately reopen the nine impacted agencies. Democrats insist Trump and lawmakers can continue to hash out an agreement on border security funding once the agencies are opened and pay is restored for the impacted workers.

Asked what Trump would be willing to offer Democrats in exchange for their support, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Trump's willingness to "take a concrete wall off the table" in favor of taxpayer funding for "a steel fence" was a key concession in itself.

Mulvaney told show host Chuck Todd if Trump “has to give up a concrete wall, replace it with a steel fence … so that Democrats can say, ‘See? He’s not building a wall anymore,’ that should help move us in the right direction.”

Trump, who last week tweeted that the idea for “An all concrete Wall was NEVER ABANDONED,” told reporters Sunday that he planned on calling “the head of United States Steel and a couple of other steel companies to have them come up with a plate or a design” for the proposed steal barrier.

Asked about the financial hardships facing workers impacted by the furlough, Trump said he could “relate.”

"I'm sure the people who are on the receiving end will make adjustments, they always do … but many of those people who won't be receiving a paycheck, many of those people agree 100 percent with what I'm doing,” Trump said.

Several federal employee unions have sued the Trump administration, arguing that the shutdown is illegally forcing hundreds of thousands of federal employees to work without guaranteed compensation.

Democrats making the Sunday political talk show rounds vowed to wage a legal challenge to any effort by Trump to declare a national emergency on the border, and said a compromise to open the government seemed far away.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the Senate, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” it was Trump’s “position” to prolong the shutdown.

"He’s prepared to see a shutdown for months and even said years and reaffirmed that before the cameras,” Durbin said. “It was stunning to hear a president of the United States say that about his own government, a government we elected him to lead. But that is his position.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should schedule a vote on legislation to reopen the government, saying “government shutdowns are never good policy.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), appearing on CBS said “There’s a deal to be had here,” but only if it includes a wall.

"I do want to open the government, but the goal is not to open the government. The goal is to fix a broken immigration system,” Graham said.

Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) said he was “critical of both sides here” during an appearance on the John Catsimatidis radio show.

“I don’t think you should shut the government down over any one issue," King said. "It’s a very dangerous precedent to set."

King said both parties have an obligation to make concessions.

"There should be concessions made on both sides. If they want to make a deal, there is so much there that could be done," King said. "Both sides are just appealing to their base. But that leaves out the great majority of the country: the middle of the country that does want to compromise."