Monday morning news: January 14, 2019

Shutdown enters day 24 » The partial government shutdown is now the longest ever—stretching into its 24th day.

The president said the ball is in the Democrats’ court. He tweeted Sunday: “I’m in the White House waiting.”

But Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware on Sunday said the president is difficult to deal with.

COONS: One of the challenges of negotiating with President Trump is I feel like I’ve signed up for the Trump of the day club. I don’t know what kind of position we’re going to get from day one to day two. 

Coons echoed a call from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham for the president to sign a funding bill to reopen the government for at least a few weeks and see if a deal can be reached with the government open.

But Senator Graham also acknowledged that Democratic leaders have said whether the government is open or shut down, they will not agree to fund a border wall.

And Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said Sunday that he believes the White House is willing to negotiate but Democrats are completely dug in.

RUBIO: They think they’re going to do a deal and the president’s going to get nothing, and that’s not how this works. You know, I’m always being told you have to compromise, you have to negotiate. Well, if you’re negotiating, that means the other side has to get something, and right now, they’re telling the president he gets nothing. 

Julian Castro announces presidential campaign » Another Democrat has joined the 2020 president race. Julian Castro is former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama. Before that, he served 5 years as mayor of San Antonio, Texas.

Castro is the grandson of a Mexican immigrant and could be the only Latino in what’s shaping up to be a crowded Democratic field.

He’s the second Democrat to formally announce a White House bid, joining former Delaware Congressman John Delaney.

President Trump rejects New York Times report » President Trump blasted a recent New York Times report, calling it “The most insulting article” ever written about him.

The Times on Friday cited anonymous sources in a report stating that after the president fired James Comey from the FBI, federal law enforcement officials were so concerned that they opened an investigation into whether the president was working for Russia against U.S. interests.

On Saturday Trump tweeted that the report showed that the FBI leadership—quote—“opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof.”

He added that he’s been tougher on Russia than any of the last several presidents.

Senator Chris Coons told Fox News Sunday it was a “concerning, even alarming report.”

COONS: And it suggests to me the Mueller investigation needs to continue to its logical conclusion. 

But Senator Lindsey Graham says he’s alarmed that some within the FBI have demonstrated an anti-Trump agenda. And he said while he doesn’t trust The New York Times reporting, he plans to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about the report.

GRAHAM: I find it astonishing, and to me, it tells me a lot about the people running the FBI, McCabe and that crowd. I don’t trust them as far as I throw them. So if this really did happen, Congress needs to know about it. 

Graham referring there to Andrew McCabe, who was deputy director of the bureau when the president fired FBI Director James Comey in 2017.

Matchups set for NFL conference championships » In NFL playoff action, the Philadelphia Eagles will not repeat as Super Bowl champions. The New Orleans Saints ousted the Eagles from the playoffs with a 20-to-14 win on Sunday. Saints head coach Sean Payton told reporters…

PAYTON: It wasn’t a perfect game, and certainly there are a lot of things we’ll that have to clean up, but most importantly we got the win and, you know against, listen, defending champions, and you know that means something. 

The Saints will host the LA Rams for the NFC championship next Sunday.

Meanwhile, in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the New England Patriots. The Pats beat the LA Chargers 41 to 28 yesterday.

The winners of the conference championship games next Sunday will meet in the Super Bowl in Atlanta on February 3rd.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) President Donald Trump attends a roundtable discussion on border security with local leaders, Friday Jan. 11, 2019, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

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