Trumps Calls For A Second Govt Shutdown

Trump has called for yet another shutdown of the federal government.  At a meeting today at the White House, Trump said to those present, "If we don't change it, let's have a shutdown," Trump said of the nation's immigration laws. "We'll do a shutdown and it's worth it for our country. I'd love to see a shutdown if we don't get this stuff taken care of."

The comment  was not well received in the room. Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Virginia Republican who represents a district with thousands of federal workers, confronted Trump about the remark and urged him to avoid a second Trump shutdown.

He added: "If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety, and unrelated but still related, they don't want to take care of our military, then shut it down. We'll go with another shutdown."

The government will run out of funding Thursday if negotiators can't strike a deal. Several Republican aides working on the budget deal have voiced concern that the President's comments about a shutdown may cause things to fall apart.

The President's remarks happened at the same time Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, in separate news conferences, touted the progress on the talks and made clear a deal was close. The talks also separate the issue from immigration altogether-- long the GOP goal-- making the President's comments somewhat confusing.

"Things are in a good place, but also fragile," another GOP aide said, noting all of the moving parts in the talks. "We could do without anything inflammatory for a couple of days."