Sunday Brings Another Round of Shutdown Talks

White House officials and congressional aides are returning to discussions Sunday to find a way to reopen the government after emerging from the first round of weekend talks without a breakthrough. President Trump tweeted Saturday: "Not much headway made today." The president later tweeted that he planned to go to his retreat at Camp David, Maryland, on Sunday morning to discuss borders security and other topics with senior staff in a meeting separate from the negotiations. Democrats agreed there had been little movement Saturday, saying the White House did not budge on the president's key demand, $5.6 billion to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, reports the AP.

The White House said funding was not discussed in-depth, but the administration was clear they needed funding for a wall and that they wanted to resolve the shutdown all at once. Accusations flew after the more than two-hour session led by Mike Pence (Trump did not attend). Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, in an interview with CNN's State of the Union, accused Democrats of being there to "stall." Democrats familiar with the meeting said the White House position was "untenable." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that House Democrats plan to start approving individual bills to reopen shuttered departments starting with Treasury to ensure Americans receive their tax refunds.

(More government shutdown stories.)