The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. December 19, 2018 Trump Backs Down from Government Shutdown Threat over Border Wall ----------------------------------------------------------------- The White House appeared to back away Tuesday from its threats to shut down the federal government unless lawmakers grant President Trump at least $5 billion to expand the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump will seek "other ways" to fund an expanded border wall, after members of Trump's own Republican Party balked at the prospect of furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers just before Christmas. Trump previously said he would be "proud" to shut down the government over the border wall. Congressional leaders now say they're likely headed toward agreeing to another short-term spending increase that will see the government funded into the new year-and the next session of Congress, when Democrats take control of the House. .