"The partial shutdown paralyzing large portions of the federal government may last into January when Democrats retake control of the House, the White House acknowledged Sunday, as negotiations over funding for President Trump’s border wall sputtered to a near-standstill and congressional leaders abandoned Washington for Christmas.
“It’s very possible that this shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new Congress,” White House budget director and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday, referencing Jan. 3, when the new Congress convenes. “I think it’s a really good question here as to whether or not this deal can be cut before the new Congress comes in.”
Mulvaney spoke as the shutdown of about 25 percent of the federal government entered its second full day. The breakdown, coming in the final days of the GOP’s unified control over government, stems from an intractable gulf between Trump’s demand to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and congressional Democrats’ refusal to authorize wall funding."
Erica Werner, David Weigel, and Philip Rucker report for the Washington Post December 23, 2018.
SEE ALSO:
"A Shutdown for Weeks? Washington Merely Shrugs" (Washington Post)
Advertisement 
