Talks to try to end a partial U.S. government shutdown came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump walked out of a meeting with congressional Democrat leaders at the White House. Calling the meeting "total waste of time" on Twitter, Trump said he left after asking Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer if they would approve a "wall or steel barrier" at the border with Mexico if he ended the shutdown. Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. The dispute about funding the wall — Trump is demanding $5.7 billion US to help build it — led to about a quarter of U.S. agencies shutting down before Christmas when he said he wouldn't sign a federal budget that didn't include that funding. That shutdown has left about 800,000 government workers furloughed or working without pay, and is affecting national parks, airline security screening, housing and food aid, and economic data.

Source: CBC News January 09, 2019 21:40 UTC