WASHINGTON – Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are expected to attend a briefing on border security at the White House as the government remains partially shut down and President Donald Trump asks in a tweet, “Let’s make a deal?”

The partial government shutdown began on Dec. 22. Funding for Trump’s pet project, a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, has been the sticking point in passing budgets for several government departments.

The briefing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, the day before Democrats are to assume control of the House and end the Republican monopoly on government.

The exact agenda, however, was not immediately clear, according to a person with knowledge of the briefing who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the top incoming House Republicans — Kevin McCarthy of California and Steve Scalise of Louisiana — planned to attend, according to aides. The departing House speaker, Paul Ryan, was not expected.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to become speaker on Thursday, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer planned to attend. Pelosi said Tuesday that Democrats would take action to “end the Trump Shutdown” by passing legislation Thursday to reopen government.

“We are giving the Republicans the opportunity to take yes for an answer,” she wrote in a letter to colleagues. “Senate Republicans have already supported this legislation, and if they reject it now, they will be fully complicit in chaos and destruction of the President’s third shutdown of his term.”

The White House invitation came Tuesday after House Democrats released their plan to re-open the government without approving money for a border wall — unveiling two bills to fund shuttered government agencies and put hundreds of thousands of federal workers back on the job. They planned to pass them as soon as the new Congress convenes Thursday.

Responding to the Democratic plan, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders late Tuesday night called it a “non-starter” and said it won’t re-open the government “because it fails to secure the border and puts the needs of other countries above the needs of our own citizens.”

Trump spent the weekend saying Democrats should return to Washington to negotiate, firing off Twitter taunts. After aides suggested there would not necessarily be a traditional wall as Trump had described since his presidential campaign, Trump stated that he really still wanted to build a border wall.

On Tuesday morning, after tweeting a New Year’s message to “EVERYONE INCLUDING THE HATERS AND THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA,” Trump tweeted: “The Democrats, much as I suspected, have allocated no money for a new Wall. So imaginative! The problem is, without a Wall there can be no real Border Security.”

But he seemed to shift tactics later in the day, appealing to Pelosi. “Border Security and the Wall ‘thing’ and Shutdown is not where Nancy Pelosi wanted to start her tenure as Speaker! Let’s make a deal?” he tweeted.

Whether the Republican-led Senate would consider the Democratic bills — or if Trump would sign either into law — was unclear. McConnell spokesman Donald Stewart said Senate Republicans would not take action without Trump’s backing.

“It’s simple: The Senate is not going to send something to the president that he won’t sign,” Stewart said.

Even if only symbolic, the passage of the bills in the House would put fresh pressure on the president. At the same time, administration officials said Trump was in no rush for a resolution to the impasse.

Trump believes he has public opinion on his side and, at very least, his base of supporters behind him, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Democratic package to end the shutdown would include one bill to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security at current levels — with $1.3 billion for border security, far less than the $5 billion Trump has said he wants for the wall — through Feb. 8 as talks continued.

It would also include another measure to fund the departments of Agriculture, Interior, Housing and Urban Development and others closed by the partial shutdown. It would provide money through the remainder of the fiscal year, to Sept. 30.

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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/hill-leaders-to-attend-white-house-briefing-on-border

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The White House on Wednesday backed a House spending bill that includes $5 billion to build a border wall, saying it will pay for another 200 miles of physical barrier on the border with Mexico.

“This funding is critical to the administration’s top priority, securing the nation’s borders,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

She said the extra spending on border security was “essential to deterring, preventing, and denying illegal border crossings by would-be illegal immigrants, human traffickers, criminal aliens, child smugglers, and drug dealers.”

The wall is the centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s effort to reduce rampant illegal immigration across the southern border. But the administration and Republicans in Congress have run into solid opposition for Democrats, who have been able to block most of an estimated $25 billion needed to build the wall.

“President Donald J. Trump has repeatedly noted that border security is national security,” said Mrs. Sanders, noting that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks underscored the importance of a secure immigration and visa system.

“The administration also continues to condemn the Left’s shameless and immoral attacks on the law enforcement officers of ICE and CBP who risk their lives daily to protect our families, our economy, and our beloved Nation. Ensuring funds for the wall, additional ICE and CBP officers, and detention beds is critical to protecting the Nation against illegal immigration, crime, and terrorism,” she said.

The $5 billion, included in the House’s Homeland Security funding bill for next year, would be for “physical barriers and associated technology along the U.S. southern border,” including $126 million for border technology, according to Republicans on the committee.

It would finance new “barrier construction” along the U.S.-Mexico border — easily outpacing the Senate’s version, which sets aside $1.6 billion for fencing along the southern border.

“The administration understands that difficult decisions had to be made to provide this funding, in part because of Congress’s allocation of funds to lower-priority or unnecessary programs,” Mrs. Sanders said.

She said the administration also recognizes that House rules forced lawmakers to make tradeoffs that the White House would otherwise oppose.

“It further appreciates the commitment of the House Committee on Appropriations to increasing the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention beds, as well as accelerating the hiring of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, although even more of both are needed,” said Mrs. Sanders.

The administration will continue to work with Congress to identify offsets for the extra spending, she said.

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jul/18/house-5-billion-border-wall-bill-cheered-white-hou/

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China has been militarizing the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China

The United States has warned China that there will be “consequences” for its growing militarization of disputed islands in the South China Sea amid reports it has moved missiles to the region.

The threat comes as the two nations continue talks to resolve a major trade dispute, and follows a formal complaint to Beijing over lasers blinding U.S. pilots in the Horn of Africa.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a news briefing Thursday that Washington was “well aware” of China’s increased military presence in the South China Sea.

She was responding to a CNBC report that China has installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of the Spratly Islands — fortified outposts west of the Philippines.

“We’ve raised concerns directly with the Chinese about this and there will be near-term and long-term consequences,” Sanders said.

Confirmation of the missiles could provoke renewed tensions in the area; they would be the first such weapons deployed in the Spratlys, over which Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also have rival claims to sovereignty.

China has not denied the reports. A foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters Thursday that Beijing has “indisputable sovereignty” over the Spratlys and that “the deployment of necessary national defense facilities are meant to safeguard China’s sovereignty and security.”

“The relevant deployment targets no one,” the spokeswoman added.

China’s militarization of the Spratlys has been a growing issue for nations around the South China Sea, a vital shipping channel that is also believed to have significant oil and natural gas deposits. In addition to land-reclamation, China has developed air bases and radar and communications systems on the islands. Its aircraft carrier, Liaoning, conducted drills with fighter jets in the area for the first time on Tuesday.

However, Beijing on Friday refuted a State Department complaint that a Chinese military base in Djibouti was responsible for shining lasers into the eyes of U.S. pilots landing nearby. The east African nation is used by American forces involved in the war on terror.

“Lasers pointed at aircraft have the potential to cause serious harm to the air crew and the surrounding area,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “Two pilots in a C-130 suffered minor eye injuries.”

A defense ministry spokesman said the Pentagon’s complaint was “completely inconsistent with the facts.”

“We have refuted the false accusations from the U.S. side through official channels,” the spokesman said. “China has always strictly abided by international law … and is committed to maintaining regional security and stability.”

The dangerous development comes as relations between the two countries have been strained by President Donald Trump’s decision to slap up to $50 billion worth of tariffs on China.

The Trump administration has asked China to reduce its trade deficit with the U.S. by $200 billion by the end of 2020, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Friday, as talks continued in Beijing to resolve the trade dispute.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sounded a positive note about the talks in a brief comment to reporters as he and other members of the U.S. delegation set off for more meetings with the Chinese. “We’re having very good conversations,” Mnuchin said.

Later, China’s state news agency Xinhua said the two sides had “reached consensus in some areas,” but acknowledged “relatively big differences over some issues.”

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-warns-china-consequences-over-reported-missiles-south-china-n871316

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White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the call in a press briefing on Monday.

“As the president himself confirmed on March 20, hours after his last call with President Putin, the two had discussed a bilateral meeting in the ‘not-too-distant future’ at a number of potential venues, including the White House,” Sanders said. The administration had no further comment on the matter, she said.

The Kremlin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters on Monday that Trump had suggested meeting at his official presidential residence and workplace in the US capital: “When our presidents spoke on the phone, Trump suggested having the meeting in Washington at the White House,” Ushakov said. “This is quite an interesting, positive idea,” he added.

Trump congratulated Putin on his election victory during their phone call

Underlying tensions

Planning for the visit was interrupted by the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the US and other Western states following the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England. The US has supported the UK’s claim that Russia was responsible for the poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent. Russia denies the accusation.

Tensions also continue with the US investigation into alleged meddling by Russia in the 2016 presidential election.

“I hope the Americans won’t abandon their proposal to discuss the possibility of holding the summit,” Ushakov said on Monday. “There was no time for discussion and there wasn’t even anyone to discuss it with,” Ushakov said, adding he hoped that “serious and constructive dialogue” could now start.

Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the White House last May. The talks were in preparation for Trump’s meeting with Putin, which took place at the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg in July 2017.

Putin last visited the White House in November 2001 when he met former President George W. Bush.

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Source: http://www.dw.com/en/white-house-confirms-donald-trump-and-vladimir-putin-will-meet/a-43228539

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“There are many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with the regime’s corruption and its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

The White House on Friday night emphasized to Iran that the world is watching, as protesters in the country continued to speak out for the second day in a row.

“There are many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with the regime’s corruption and its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “The Iranian government should respect their people’s rights, including their right to express themselves.”

President Donald Trump later tweeted out a similarly worded statement.

According to the Associated Press, Iranians gathered in the capital of Tehran and and the western city Kermanshah for a second day of demonstrations in a nation that is struggling economically. The AP added such mass protests without police permission are unusual in Iran and those taking part face arrest.

The statements come as the White House and Congress continue to grapple with the future of the Iran nuclear deal. Trump has called the deal the “worst deal ever” and like many GOP presidential candidates promised to end it once he entered the White House.

Earlier, the State Department released a statement that condemned the arrests of protesters.

“Iran’s leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos. As President Trump has said, the longest-suffering victims of Iran’s leaders are Iran’s own people,” said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.

Police, according to the AP, arrested a small number of demonstrators in Tehran.

Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/29/iran-protests-white-house-state-319782

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“We look forward to seeing this hoax wrap up very soon,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. | Alex Brandon/AP

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that President Donald Trump hopes special counsel Robert Mueller will wrap up his “hoax” investigation soon, and she said lawmakers should “absolutely” look into what they view as election-related wrongdoing under the previous administration.

Sanders said Trump does not intend to fire Mueller, whose team is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, including any ties to Trump campaign officials. But the White House spokeswoman also took aim at the probe’s legitimacy.

“We have no intentions of firing Bob Mueller. We are continuing to work closely and cooperate with him,” Sanders said on Fox News. “We look forward to seeing this hoax wrap up very soon.”

Sanders was asked whether she agreed with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who tweetedon Thursday that it was “time to investigate high ranking Obama government officials who might have colluded to prevent the election of @realDonaldTrump!”

“I think it’s something that certainly should be looked at,” Sanders said.

Paul also suggested during an interview on Fox News that members of the intelligence community may have conspired to keep Trump out of the White House. Pressed on whether the White House agreed with the senator’s sentiment, Sanders said an investigation into the matter would be worthwhile.

“I haven’t asked [the president] directly about Sen. Paul’s statement. I think the senator, if he feels there is something to be looked at, we absolutely should be looking at that,” she said.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the ongoing probe into ties between his campaign aides and foreign officials as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.”

The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., similarly floated Tuesday that government officials were conspiring against his father.

“There is, and there are, people at the highest levels of government that don’t want to let America be America,” Trump Jr. told a group of young conservatives in Florida.

Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/21/bob-mueller-hoax-russia-investigation-sarah-sanders-312214

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