DAY 14: Government shutdown continues; Democrats refuse to fund border wall

WASHINGTON - The partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government stretched into its fourteenth day Friday, as Congressional Democrats refused to fund President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.

President Trump met with senior Congressional leaders, including newly elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at the White House Friday as negotiations continued in an attempt to end the government shutdown. Democrats refused to allocate any funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which President Trump considers to be a must-have for any government spending bill that would fund the government and end the shutdown.

House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement that the President said he was willing to allow the government shutdown to continue for "very long period of time, months or even years," a comment that Mr. Trump later confirmed.

President Donald Trump later said in a Friday afternoon press conference that he was considering declaring a national emergency "because of the security of our country." Declaring a national emergency would allow the President to use previously allocated funds to construct the border wall, without having to secure funding from Congress.

The partial government shutdown has strained federal departments and agencies, with many workers being furloughed or having to work without pay.

The government shutdown will continue until a funding bill is passed by Congress and signed by the President.