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WASHINGTON, Jan. 2-- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday held firm on his initial request for 5 billion U.S. dollars for funding the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, hours ahead of a planned meeting with congressional Democrats to bridge their bitter divide, which has dragged a partial government shutdown into the 12th day. Trump was asked by a reporter at a cabinet meeting Wednesday morning in the White House whether he would accept a bill containing border wall funding below 5 billion dollars. "I'd rather not say it. Could we do it for a little bit less? It's so insignificant compared to what we're talking about. You know, I've heard numbers as high as 275 billion dollars we lose on illegal immigration," the president said. "The 5 billion dollars approved by the House is such a small amount compared to the level of the problem," he added, referring to the 5.7 billion dollars for border wall funding approved by the Republican-led House on Dec. 20. The bill was rejected by Democrats in the Senate on the following day, resulting in the partial government closure. According to incoming White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, the White House proposed on Dec. 22, the first day the shutdown took effect, a sum below 5 billion dollars for erecting the wall, but that, too, was rejected by the Democrats. Mulvaney was referring to a proposal made by Vice President Mike Pence to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. It offered 2.5 billion dollars for a combination of border security and immigration priority funding. Trump was also reportedly opposed to this compromise by his own administration, instead repeatedly pushing for his original demand. | 
