Democrats Plan More Pressure To Reopen Government, Trump Considers National Emergency

Sarah Obeid, AP,

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Newly empowered House Democrats are planning to step up pressure on President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers to reopen the government.

This comes after there was no weekend breakthrough to end a prolonged partial government shutdown, with Trump standing firm in his border wall funding demands.

Trump showed no signs of budging on his demand for more than $5 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, though on Sunday he did offer to build it with steel rather than concrete, a concession Democrats panned.

With the shutdown lurching into a third week, many Republicans watched nervously from the sidelines as hundreds of thousands of federal workers went without pay and government disruptions hit the lives of ordinary Americans.

Many national parks were forced to close when the shutdown started. The National Park Service says it’s going to use already-collected fee revenue to clean up the parks.  The money would have gone to future projects. Now, it will be used to clean and maintain restrooms, restore accessibility and bring in additional law enforcement rangers.

Some smaller sites will have to stay closed.

The drawn-out shutdown is also hurting plans for people visiting the nation’s capital. Most museums and monuments are closed in Washington DC. Some tourist traveled across the country to find limited options for their itinerary.

TSA workers at airports across the country are calling out at higher rates than normal because they’re working without pay. Hundreds of frustrated travelers were stuck in massive lines at LaGuardia Airport in New York City over the weekend.

Last week, North Carolina airpots reported call-outs were 10 percent higher. However, TSA says the overall impact is minimal and security will not be compromised.