US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has warned that the federal government may not reopen any time soon, as he stood firm on his demand for billions of dollars in funding for a border wall with Mexico.

Addressing a cabinet meeting on the 12th day of the shutdown, Trump warned it “could be a long time” before the impasse is resolved.

“It’s too important a subject to walk away from,” said the president, who was to meet later with Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

“The 5.6 billion is such a small amount and we are talking about national security,” Trump added, saying: “I think the people of this country think I am right.”

The White House tweeted earlier said that senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security would provide a “border security briefing” to top Democratic lawmakers Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. 

It will be Trump’s first meeting with Pelosi, who will take over as speaker of the House tomorrow, and Schumer, the Senate minority leader, since an acrimonious Oval Office meeting with the pair on 11 December.

Amid the stalemate over the wall, Trump shelved his annual Christmas vacation in Florida, choosing to remain in Washington and fire off a stream of angry – and often misleading – tweets.

“Much of the Wall has already been renovated or built,” he asserted today along with the dubious claim that Mexico would pay for the wall through the new trade deal negotiated between the two countries.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders accused Democrats of refusing to compromise.

“President Trump made a serious, good faith offer to Democrats to open the government, address the crisis at our border, and protect all Americans,” Sanders said.

She described a plan put forward by Pelosi as a “non-starter because it does not fund our homeland security or keep American families safe from human trafficking, drugs, and crime.”

Democrats say the border wall, one of Trump’s key campaign promises, is a distraction from more complicated immigration problems and a tool for Trump to whip up support among his conservative base.

The standoff resulted in swaths of the federal government being shut down over the Christmas and New Year holidays – and for the foreseeable future until a deal is reached.

© – AFP 2019