President Donald Trump left a border-wall meeting after clashing with Democrats on Wednesday, and said he may still declare a national emergency as the partial government shutdown marked its 19th day.

‘BYE-BYE’ TO PELOSI, SCHUMER

The president called a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a “total waste of time,” tweeting he’d said “bye-bye” to the Democrats after they said no to his demand for a wall. In the same tweet, however, Trump suggested he’d be willing to reopen shuttered agencies before getting wall funding. Democrats have pressed him to reopen the government as talks move ahead.

“I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!”

Schumer called it a “temper tantrum,” a characterization that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy disputed. Vice President Mike Pence said Trump came to the meeting with candy.

Separately, Trump said declaring a national emergency was still on the table. “I think we might work a deal, and if we don’t, we might go that route,” the president said as he signed a bill to combat human trafficking. His comments came after his Tuesday night address to the nation, in which he called illegal immigration a “crisis,” but did not declare an emergency. Trump also sought to reassure furloughed federal workers, saying “they’re all going to get their money, and I think they’re going to be happy.”

Republican senators including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have signaled willingness to allow agencies to reopen while border talks continue. The House, meanwhile, was scheduled to begin voting on individual bills to reopen agencies including the Treasury Department. The White House threatened a veto by Trump of those bills.

The bill Trump signed renews federal resources for human trafficking survivors and sets up new programs to bring perpetrators to justice.

Also see:Real-estate agents say government shutdown is impacting the housing market.

And read:Here’s what happens to the economy if food stamps are halted for a year due to the shutdown.

CUTTING OFF CALIFORNIA

On Twitter, Trump said unless California gets its “act together,” he has “ordered [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] to send no more money” to the state, which last year experienced deadly wildfires.

It was unclear if Trump has actually given an order or was making a threat. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation, including Pelosi, slammed Trump’s tweet. Pelosi called it a threat that “insults the memory of scores of Americans who perished in wildfires last year & thousands more who lost their homes.” Newly sworn in California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted “we have been put in office by the voters to get things done, not to play games with lives.”

Now read:White House makes case for environmental rollbacks to fight forest fires.

NOMINATIONS SENT TO SENATE

The White House announced it has sent Trump’s nominations for six positions to the Senate for consideration, including new chiefs for the Environmental Protection Agency and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trump has tapped Andrew Wheeler as EPA administrator and Heath Tarbert for CFTC chairman, as well as Geoffrey Okamoto to be deputy undersecretary of the Treasury.

Also see:Furious at the Fed, Trump may use opening at central bank to do absolutely nothing.