Pence Meets In Effort to End Shutdown

“Top White House officials and senior congressional aides were meeting Saturday to try to negotiate a breakthrough to end the partial government shutdown that has persisted for two weeks with no end in sight,” the Washington Post reports.

“Expectations for the meeting at the White House, led by Vice President Pence but lacking lawmakers whose sign-off would be needed to secure a deal, were low. While assigned by President Trump to oversee the meeting, Pence did not have the president’s blessing to float new or specific numbers, as the vice president had done last month in a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY).”

Also interesting: “Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, continues to tell his allies that he believes there could eventually be a deal for border wall funding in exchange for protections of children brought to the United States illegally.”