Sarah Sanders Holds First White House Briefing Since Before Government Shutdown
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WASHINGTON – In her first White House briefing since before the partial government shutdown, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders doubled down on the president's demand for border wall funding.
"The President is committed to fixing the problem and its pretty simple, we have three weeks to negotiate in good faith," Sanders said.
Right now, a bipartisan effort is in the works to come up with a plan all sides can agree on.
President Donald Trump, however, doesn't have high hopes for negotiations with Democrats, saying he believes there is less than 50 percent chance for a deal.
At the center of the talks remains funding for the commander in chief's border wall to the tune of $5.7 billion.
"The goal is border security and protecting the American people," Sanders said. "The President does not want to go through another shutdown."
If lawmakers can't come to an agreement, the government might shut down again – or Trump will declare a national emergency to enable him to build the wall without direct congressional funding.
The last White House press briefing was on Dec. 18. Trump took to Twitter to explain the reason behind the lack of q&a in the West Wing briefing room.
The reason Sarah Sanders does not go to the "podium" much anymore is that the press covers her so rudely & inaccurately, in particular certain members of the press. I told her not to bother, the word gets out anyway! Most will never cover us fairly & hence, the term, Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2019
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