President Trump plans to hold a highly anticipated border security meeting with congressional leaders in the Situation Room on Wednesday afternoon, Fox News has learned — choosing a setting meant to underscore the urgency of the border problem.
A source familiar with the details confirmed the choice of the White House Situation Room for the meeting, which comes as the partial government shutdown drags into its 12th day amid a deadlock over border security funding.
In a Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday that served as a preview of the briefing with Hill leaders, the president maintained his stance that a wall along the southern border is necessary.
“If they knew they couldn’t come through, they wouldn’t even start,” Trump said at the meeting with Cabinet secretaries and top advisers. “We have to have a wall.”
He added: “We need a wall and in the end, I believe we will be successful.”
Trump said the U.S.-Mexico border is “like a sieve,” and vowed to “make a plea” for his border wall.
While much of the federal government is running as normal, the partial shutdown has forced hundreds of thousands of federal workers to stay home or work without pay, and has closed some federal services and tourist sites.