House Democrats have passed a plan to re-open the US government without funding President Donald Trump’s border wall — but a meeting between congressional leaders and the president in the White House has shown little promise for a quick fix to the ongoing funding problems.

The largely party-line votes on the bill Thursday – on the Democrats first day in the majority - came after Mr Trump made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, where he introduced leaders of the National Border Patrol Council who claimed a physical border barrier is necessary for national security. The president pledged to keep fighting for over $5bn in funding for the wall, which was a major campaign promise when he ran for president two years ago.

On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Mr Trump — alongside the other seven top members of the Senate and House leadership caucuses — at the White House, where Democrats and Republicans clashed over the president's request for $5.6bn in border wall funding. Mr Trump, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, had threatened to maintain the government shutdown for "months or even years" if he does not get the funding he seeks.

Mr Trump, during a press conference at the White House Rose Garden following the meeting, confirmed that he had threatened to keep the shutdown going indefinitely if needed, but also confirmed that he is considering emergency powers to re-appropriate funds to build a border wall.

It has been two weeks since the government funding expired for a portion of the US government, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal workers to work without pay or stay home until the politicians in Washington can agree to funding legislation.

While congressional leaders have failed to reach an agreement, rubbish in the country's national parks has piled up and other basic services have been cut back.

Read along for our coverage of the ongoing talks between Congress and the White House below