Trump Threatens Another Government Shutdown If Congress Rejects Wall Funding

• Trump doubtful of a deal coming up before Feb.15
• Wall funding less than $5.7 billion will be unacceptable
• Citizenship for Dreamers not a pre-condition for any deal

The U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened another government shutdown if the border wall funding issue is not resolved soon.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump made it clear that he sees less than 50 percent chance of a deal being clinched before the Feb. 15 deadline of the government funding lapse.

Trump’s refusal to sign spending bills that missed his $5.7 billion mark for a border wall had led to a 35-day shutdown.

According to Trump, the newly formed group of 17 lawmakers setting a deal before the next government-funding lapse looks slim. The group is led by House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey. It will be holding its first meeting soon.

The group’s mandate is to plan out a long-term deal on border security and immigration issues. Both are highly sensitive topics and difficult to handle politically.

“I personally think it’s less than 50-50, but you have a lot of very good people on that board,” Trump added.

Trump made it clear that he will not accept any deal that is less than $5.7 billion for the wall. He also refused to club the issue of citizenship benefits to Dreamers in exchange for wall funding.

Dreamers are illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. The Congress has yet to pass the DREAM Act proposals that would have given them benefits.

On Friday, Trump announced the reopening of the government for three weeks after a 35-day shutdown that held up salaries of thousands of Federal workers.

Trump signed a bill to temporarily end the impasse paving for negotiations on the matter.

The prolonged shutdown led to non-payment of salary for 800,000 federal workers stretching to pay for food and medical bills.

Wall will be built

Trump vowed that he would build a wall even if it means using emergency powers. Democrats are opposed to the construction of any physical wall, but they have offered cooperation to strengthen border security via funds for fencing, bollard barriers, and technology.

“Shutdowns are not legitimate negotiating tactics when there’s a public-policy disagreement between two branches of government,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Meanwhile, reports said many Americans are blaming the president for the shutdown and his popularity is reportedly slipping even among the core supporters.