国际英语资讯:Roundup: No breakthrough in talks to end U.S. govt shutdown_时事

国际英语资讯:Roundup: No breakthrough in talks to end U.S. govt shutdown

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- Senior Trump administration officials and Democratic congressional staffers met Saturday without achieving any breakthrough in ending a partial government shutdown and breaking a deadlock over funding for a proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall.

A readout provided by the office of Vice President Mike Pence, who led the administration's team, said "the conversation was productive" and both sides agreed to meet again Sunday afternoon.

U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding over 5 billion U.S. dollars in border security to deliver his signature campaign promise to build a wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico, which has strongly rejected by Democrats.

Their disagreement has led to a budget impasse and a partial government shutdown, which enters its 15th day Saturday, affecting nine cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies as well as jobs and paychecks of some 800,000 federal employees.

The Pence readout said there was "no in depth conversation about dollar figure" for funding the wall but "the priorities for security." Pence also reiterated Trump's position that "we need funding for the border wall."

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, also attended the meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building along with Trump's acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.