Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Vice President Mike Pence made no progress in negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday. | Alex Edelman/Getty Images Government Shutdown Shutdown could stretch into 2019 ‘I don’t think things are going to move very quickly here for the next couple of days,’ said Mick Mulvaney.

The partial government shutdown that began Friday could stretch for more than two weeks, with negotiations at a stalemate and congressional leaders leaving town to spend Christmas with family.

Mick Mulvaney, the White House’s acting chief of staff, predicted on Sunday that it was “very possible” the funding lapse would drag on through New Year’s and into the next Congress, when Democrats retake control of the House of Representatives.


“I think it’s a really good question here as to whether or not this deal can be cut before the new Congress comes in,” Mulvaney said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “I don’t think things are going to move very quickly here for the next couple of days.”

Mulvaney, backed by several other Trump allies, has blamed Democrats for rejecting the administration’s attempts to reach a deal over the weekend. But the White House has only escalated its demands for funding the president’s border wall since the shutdown started at midnight on Friday, forcing roughly 420,000 federal employees to work without pay over the holidays.

Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday presented a funding deal that would include $2.5 billion for border security, including new fencing and $400 million for other immigration priorities, according to two Democratic aides.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) rejected that offer, and a Schumer spokesman said Sunday the two remained “very far apart.” The details were first reported by The Washington Post.

“If Director Mulvaney says the Trump Shutdown will last into the New Year, believe him — because it’s their shutdown,” the spokesman, Justin Goodman, said on Sunday.

Democrats in both chambers have already agreed to $1.3 billion for border fencing, the same amount that’s already been signed into law.

Democrats say they’ve had “real discussions” with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Appropriations Committee, who initially struck the deal for $1.6 billion back in June, according to a person familiar with negotiations. That progress has been dismissed by the White House, the person said, because officials are “being guided” by the House Freedom Caucus.

Trump, meanwhile, is only hardening his approach to border wall funding. He indicated to conservative lawmakers at a Saturday lunch meeting that he wouldn’t agree to less than $2 billion, according to an attendee.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who chairs the House Freedom Caucus and also attended the meeting, said Sunday that talks were now focused on securing between $1.6 billion and $5 billion for the wall.

“There are a number of conservatives who believe that $5 billion was already a concession,” Meadows told Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”

Democrats, who argue that border officials have yet to spend that entire amount from last fiscal year, feel they have no reason to cave.

As of Sunday afternoon, no further talks had been scheduled ahead of Christmas. A flurry of negotiations with Mulvaney, Pence and Schumer made no progress on Friday and Saturday.

Even senior lawmakers and aides have become resigned to a standoff that lasts through early January. Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Schumer, have flown back to their states and districts for Christmas.

The House and Senate both adjourned Saturday with no plan for reopening the government. The Senate won’t return until Thursday, two days after Christmas.

Appropriations staffers in both chambers remain on call through Thursday, in case of a deal. Chances are slim, however, and even Shelby acknowledged to reporters on Saturday that he saw almost no possibility of coming together before then.

The White House has insisted that a shutdown in late December will cause little heartburn for federal workers, arguing that the next round of paychecks won’t go out until Jan. 11. Mulvaney himself said Sunday that “nobody is working without getting paid.”

But the pressure will begin to build quickly in January for the White House and Congress to strike a deal, with nine federal departments and dozens of agencies shuttered.

A total of 380,000 workers have been furloughed, including nearly all of NASA, the National Park Service and federal housing agencies. The effects will be felt across the country: Local and state farm service centers are closed, federal home loan applications are delayed, and law enforcement training is postponed.

The shutdown also means a temporary lapse in authorization for the Violence Against Women Act, the landmark law that protects victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Funding for some of the act’s programs could be affected in the case of a prolonged shutdown: The Department of Justice, which oversees 25 of the law’s grant programs, is among the departments shuttered.

Pelosi has said that House Democrats will act quickly to reopen the government in January, passing short-term funding bills and daring Senate Republicans to prolong the pain of a shutdown.

Mulvaney has repeatedly blamed House Democrats for the stalemate. He argued that Pelosi was hesitant to strike a deal on Trump’s border wall, fearing backlash from more liberal lawmakers in her bid to become speaker of the chamber.

“I think she’s now in that unfortunate position of being beholden to her left wing to where she cannot be seen as agreeing with the president on anything until after she’s speaker,” Mulvaney said on Sunday. “If that’s the case, again, I think there’s a chance we go into the next Congress.”

It’s a common talking point for Republicans, who maintain that Pelosi has to walk a tightrope to win the speaker’s election on Jan. 3.

But even progressive House Democrats had agreed to support $1.3 billion — and possibly even $1.6 billion, depending on the conditions — before the standoff started.

“It really depends on what’s in there and how it’s crafted,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said last week when asked about the $1.6 billion for a border fence.

Pelosi advocates have roundly rejected Republican criticism, arguing that House Democrats have been united in opposing Trump’s wall.

“The sooner the White House recognizes the need to stop the posturing and start serious bipartisan talks, the sooner we can end the Trump Shutdown,” Drew Hammill, deputy chief of staff to Pelosi, said in a statement.