WASHINGTON _ Donald Trump said that most federal employees who are not receiving paychecks because of the U.S. government shutdown are Democrats, after characterizing them as supporters of the wall and partial government shutdown only days ago.
"Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?" Trump tweeted on Thursday morning, the sixth day of a partial government shutdown that hinges on Trump's demand for $5 billion for building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump's tweet comes after he told reporters Tuesday that the furloughed federal workers are sympathetic to the shutdown because they support the wall. "They understand what's happening. They want border security," he said at the time.
Trump promised during his presidential campaign that a wall would be built along the border and Mexico would pay for it. Now he is asking Congress for the money. Democratic leaders have proposed $1.3 billion for border security.
In his tweet Thursday, sent after he returned to Washington from a brief visit to Iraq, Trump wrote, "Have the Democrats finally realized that we desperately need Border Security and a Wall on the Southern Border."
There's little indication of any imminent agreement to resolve the standoff as the Christmas holiday in the U.S. passed and the new Congress is set to convene next week. Trump said during his Iraq visit that the shutdown would last as long as it takes to get the funding he wants for the wall and additional border security measures. The president declined to say what level of funding he'd accept.
