President Trump will make a rare trip to the Capitol to huddle with GOP senators Wednesday, presumably to push for unity in the fight for border wall funding.
The White House announced the visit, which will come one day after Trump and Democrats hold dueling prime-time television addresses on border wall funding. Vice President Mike Pence will also attend.
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Trump wants up to $5.7 billion for a southern border wall and has refused to sign lapsed spending bills unless he gets the money.
Democrats say they won’t negotiate unless Trump signs the spending bills first, which would eliminate his leverage.
Nine departments and agencies are partially shuttered after funding ran out Dec. 22 at midnight. The partial shutdown leaves about 800,000 federal employees without a paycheck.
House Democrats plan to pressure the GOP by passing legislation that would reopen all of the agencies, beginning with votes on Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has refused to take up any House bill that does not include wall funding, but a handful of GOP lawmakers have called on him to do so.
Trump needs to keep Republicans on board with his strategy or else a growing number of GOP senators and House members may begin voting for the spending bills.
It won’t be Trump’s last visit this month. He’s slated to deliver his state of the union address on Jan. 29.
