Trump rejects call to reopen government temporarily

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump rejected a call Monday from one of his closest legislative allies to reopen the government temporarily as he insists on funding for his barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump was asked on the shutdown's 24th day about Senator Lindsey Graham's suggestion over the weekend, saying "I did reject it."

"I'm not interested. I want to get it solved. I don't want to just delay it. I want to get it solved," Trump told reporters before departing the White House for the state of Louisiana. "I don't want to just delay it. I want to get it solved."

The president has worked with the Republican Senate leadership to stymy legislation in Congress that does not include the $5.7 billion he is seeking for his long-promised wall, but it is unclear how much longer Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will continue to line up behind his call.

Trump's comments on Monday come as a trio of polls came in showing his approval rating hovering around 40 percent.

A separate Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday indicated the majority of Americans blame Trump and Republicans for the ongoing impasse by a wide margin with just 29 percent blaming congressional Democrats.

Graham said Sunday he urged Trump to open the government for about three weeks to see if Democrats would be willing to negotiate over the wall.

"If we can’t at the end of three weeks, all bets are off — see if he can do it by himself with the emergency powers. That is my recommendation," he said.

After repeatedly claiming he had the legal authorities to do so, Trump said Monday he is not interested in using emergency powers to build the wall.

Democrats have threatened to pursue legal action should he try to circumvent Congress to build the barrier he promised Mexico would fund.