USA

White House Downplays Shutdown Chances

FILE - The White House is seen through a metal gate in Washington, Oct. 6, 2019.

The White House is signaling it's not interested in a government shutdown when a temporary government-wide spending bill expires Nov. 21.

White House congressional liaison Eric Ueland told reporters that President Donald Trump would sign another short-term stopgap spending bill to prevent a shutdown, so long as Democrats don't try to tie Trump's hands on funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Trump had refused to rule out a shutdown when asked about it Sunday, but there's no appetite for one among his allies on Capitol Hill. There has been speculation about a potential shutdown but no evidence that one is actually brewing.

Ueland said Trump wants "the spending process to continue to unfold and the government to continue to be funded."