Sides try to swing more support in shutdown battle

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has asked to meet with centrist Democrats on Tuesday to continue negotiations for border wall funding, a dispute that led to a partial government shutdown, now in its 25th day and the longest in U.S. history. The president hopes to convince moderate Democrats, including freshmen lawmakers and those with more conservatives constituencies, to break with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and support the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. But those rank-and-file House Democrats turned down Trump’s invitation to lunch Tuesday, telegraphing their loyalty to their party leaders in Congress. If negotiations with Congress fail, Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency to build the wall.

Some moderate Republicans, including Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have urged their GOP colleagues to support Democratic legislation that would reopen the shuttered parts of the government without border funding. But Senate Republicans remain largely united behind the White House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will not bring any legislation to the floor that is unlikely to earn the president’s support.

Some congressional lawmakers, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., have opted to go without pay until the shutdown is over.

Around 800,000 federal workers are furloughed or working without a paycheck. The busiest U.S. airports are warning travelers to expect long waits as Transportation Security Administration agents and air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay, are increasingly not showing up for work.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to note that House Democrats turned down President Trump’s invitation to the White House to discuss funding for the border wall.