President Donald Trump threatens to shut down government over border wall funding

Tom Vanden Brook | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 3 ways the government shutdown may impact you A government shutdown could have an impact on everything from your passport application to your trip to a national park.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump threatened Sunday to shut down the federal government unless Democrats in Congress support his immigration initiatives, including money for a wall on the border with Mexico.

Trump lashed out at an immigration policy that allows up to 50,000 immigrants to receive visas each year and the practice of arresting immigrants for crossing the border illegally and freeing them until their cases are adjudicated.

"I would be willing to 'shut down' government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall!" Trump tweeted. "Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!"

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Last week, Trump met with Republican leaders in Congress to discuss a plan that would avoid a shutdown in the fall. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., presented Trump with a plan that would fund the government and delay the debate over immigration until after the midterm elections in November.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that such a move could hurt Republican chances in the fall.

"So I certainly don't like playing shutdown politics," Johnson said.

Trump wants $5 billion for the border wall this year, but he signaled to leaders that he might be willing to wait until after the midterms, given that Senate Democrats are unlikely to agree to that amount. His latest tweet throws those discussions into question.

The government has twice gone unfunded this year. In January, lawmakers were at another spending-and-immigration impasse, largely over the fates of undocumented immigrants facing deportation. The shutdown lasted less than three days.

A few weeks later, in February, the government went unfunded for 5½ hours after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., protested spending increases in a funding bill.