WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump appeared to back away from threats to shut down parts of the federal government over his demands for money for his border wall, as his press secretary indicated Tuesday that the administration aimed to keep the government open.
Trump, who has been demanding $5 billion in additional wall funding from Congress, said last week during a meeting with Democratic leaders that he would be "proud" to shut down the government if his demand wasn't met.
In an interview with Fox News, however, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that a shutdown was not the president's only option.
"We have other ways that we can get to that $5 billion," she said.
The comments came just four days before funds for large portions of the federal government are due to run out.
"At the end of the day, we don't want to shut down the government, we want to shut down the border," Sanders said, adding that the White House believes it has other options for securing wall money rather than seeking an appropriation from Congress.
"There are certainly a number of different funding sources that we've identified that we can use, that we can couple with money that would be given through congressional appropriations that would help us get to that $5 billion that the president needs in order to protect our border," she said, without specifying what those were.
On Capitol Hill, Republicans responded to Sanders' statement with cautious optimism, although some made it clear they weren't sure whether the White House was in fact shifting its strategy.
In recent days, Republican leaders have repeatedly indicated they were uncertain about what, if anything, Trump would agree to support.
"I assume she speaking on behalf of the president so maybe there's a negotiation going on that's going to find us a solution," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate.
Sen Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, also spoke to reporters Tuesday morning after a closed-door meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer of New York.
"I think that the White House is looking, like we are, to figure out how we can get to yes," Shelby said after the meeting in McConnell's office.
