On Saturday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer demanded that President Trump back down off his insistence to fund the border wall and end the shutdown.

Senator Schumer is certain in his mind that it will never pass and if the President wants to ever open the government back up that he’ll have to give up his attempts to fund the wall.

“It will never pass the Senate, not today, not next week, not next year. So President Trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall, plain and simple,” said Schumer Saturday.

Fox News reports,

The partial shutdown began at midnight Saturday, a few hours after the House and Senate adjourned without getting a funding agreement to the president’s desk. The shutdown was expected to last at least a few days, with sources on both sides of the aisle telling Fox News that Washington could be in for a prolonged shutdown.

Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “I won an election, said to be one of the greatest of all time, based on getting out of endless & costly foreign wars & also based on Strong Borders which will keep our Country safe. We fight for the borders of other countries, but we won’t fight for the borders of our own!”

I won an election, said to be one of the greatest of all time, based on getting out of endless & costly foreign wars & also based on Strong Borders which will keep our Country safe. We fight for the borders of other countries, but we won’t fight for the borders of our own!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2018

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that productive discussions are continuing as Vice President Mike Pence and newly appointed Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney met with Schumer to continue talks for ending the shutdown.

Later Saturday, a spokesman for Schumer said that “the vice president came in for a discussion and made an offer. Unfortunately, we’re still very far apart.”

The Blaze stated,

The stalemate centers on was funding for Trump’s signature 2016 campaign promise for a border wall to curb illegal immigration. The president wants $5.7 billion for the project. A bill that would fund it passed the House on Friday. Sixty votes are required in the Senate, which means Democratic votes are needed in addition to support from the GOP.

My estimation is that an agreement will be made. It will not be $5 Billion, nor will it be under $2 Billion.