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Negotiations over a bipartisan deal for border-security funding have broken down, aides familiar with the talks and other officials said Sunday, increasing the likelihood of another government shutdown at the end of the week.
“I think the talks are stalled right now,” Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the Republican chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’m hoping we can get off the dime later today or in the morning because time’s ticking away.”
The government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and aides expected the talks to resume at some point. Lawmakers often haggle up until the last minute in an effort to cut the most advantageous deal possible.
Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s interim chief of staff, said Sunday the possibility of a second government shutdown couldn’t be ruled out.
“Is a shutdown entirely off the table? The answer is ‘no,’” Mr. Mulvaney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
President Trump on Sunday suggested Democrats wanted a second government shutdown, and said he didn’t think party leaders were allowing Democratic negotiators to make a deal.
