In particular, one of the congressional negotiators working on border security funding, US Republican Senator Richard Shelby said Monday that an "agreement in principle" had been reached, Reuters reported. However, Shelby did not provide an outline of the deal, saying that staff members will work out the details.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the congressional negotiators, US Democratic Representative Nita Lowey said that staff members could work out full details of border security deal by Wednesday, according to Reuters.
READ MORE: House Speaker Pelosi: 'There Will Not Be Another Shutdown'
On Sunday, negotiations between congressional Republicans and Democrats broke down without reaching a deal to fund the government as lawmakers face a looming deadline. Failure to reach a compromise by Friday could trigger another government shutdown just a few weeks after the longest one in history ended.
Earlier on Monday, Trump said that congressional Democrats would be responsible for another federal government stalemate. The US president has repeatedly hinted at declaring a national emergency to address what he calls a crisis over crime caused by immigrant gangs, drug smuggling and human trafficking of would-be migrants.
READ MORE: US Prepared to Prevent Latest Migrant Caravan From Illegal Entry — Nielsen
Last week, a group of Democrats in the US Senate introduced a bill dubbed the RAIDER Act (Restrictions Against Illegitimate Declarations for Emergency Re-Appropriations) designed to prevent Trump from accessing emergency funds to build a wall along the US border with Mexico.
The last shutdown of more than a month — from December — January — was the longest in the US history and affected more than 800,000 federal workers and contractors. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the US economy is expected to record around $3 billion in losses as a result of the recent partial shutdown.
READ MORE: Any Border Security Legislation Will Not Include Trump's Wall Funding — Pelosi
