House Passes Bill to Re-open Government, Without Funding For Wall

UPDATE: Cheering Democrats have returned Nancy Pelosi to the House speaker's post as the 116th Congress ushers in a historically diverse freshman class eager to confront President Donald Trump in a new era of divided government.

  

Pelosi took the gavel saying U.S. voters "demanded a new dawn" in the November election that swept the Democrats to a House majority and are looking to "the beauty of our Constitution" to provide checks and balances on power.

  

As night fell, the House quickly got to work on the partial government shutdown, which was winding up Day 13 with Trump demanding billions in Mexican border wall funding. Democrats approved legislation to re-open the government - but without the $5.6 billion in wall money, which means it has no chance in the Republican Senate.

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President Donald Trump has made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, flanked by border patrol agents championing his demand for a wall on the U.S. southern border.

It's the first time Trump has taken the podium in the briefing room.

Trump says the "people in our country want" the wall.

He has also congratulated Nancy Pelosi, who was installed hours before as speaker of the Democratic-controlled House. Trump and the Democrats are locked in an impasse with the partial government shutdown in its 13th day.

Trump is demanding that lawmakers provide billions of dollars for a border wall. The border agents who accompanied Trump told reporters the wall is essential to stopping illegal migration and drug-smuggling.

Meanwhile, Pelosi says "there's no amount of persuasion" President Trump can use to get her to fund his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Pelosi says the partial government shutdown stemming from Trump's demand for wall funding has nothing to do with Democrats. She said in an interview that aired Thursday on NBC's "Today" show that Democrats want the "Trump shutdown" to end but she's unwilling to fund Trump's wall

She added: "There is no amount of persuasion he can use."

Pelosi says negotiating with Trump is difficult because he "resists science, evidence, data, truth." The California Democrat adds, "It's hard to pin the president down on the facts.

Pelosi responded to criticism from Trump that she took a trip to Hawaii over the holidays, while he canceled his planned visit to Florida because of the shutdown. Pelosi says, "The president may not know this, but Hawaii is part of the United States of America." She says she was available on 24 hours' notice.

Trump has said the shutdown will last "as long as it takes" to get the wall funding he wants.