Trump Sticks to Demand for Border Wall

“The Trump White House maintained its hard line on funding for a border wall in a letter Sunday to congressional leaders, demanding $5.7 billion for construction of a barrier as the partial government shutdown heads into its third week after weekend talks,” the Washington Post reports.

“Senior administration officials described the letter as a flicker of progress, in particular the request for ‘an additional $800 million to address urgent humanitarian needs’ and unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the border, an issue they said Democrats have made a priority during the talks. The officials also said that the letter’s formal call for a ‘steel barrier’ rather than a massive concrete wall — as Trump long promised — was another notable, if minor, development.”