BORDER/DEMS/GOVERNMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump plans to offer Democrats another proposal to end the shutdown when he addresses the nation from the White House on Saturday [1-19-19] afternoon — what officials are describing as his third offer to end the shutdown, according to a senior administration official. The official told CNN that Trump’s idea is to put something on the table to get Democrats to engage with negotiations. Trump is not expected to back down from his demand for a border wall, but the plan will seek to entice Democrats by offering other concessions. However, this plan is not based on negotiations with Democrats and White House officials are pessimistic that it will change much in stalled talks, because Democrats have previously refused to counter the White House’s proposal. Instead they have insisted that the President reopen the government, then engage in negotiations over border security. The official added that discussions about a national emergency are ongoing in the administration and the President is not expected to announce a decision on that during Saturday’s speech. However, nothing is definite until it’s announced by the President.”
–Abby Phillip and Betsy Klein, “Trump plans to make Democrats an offer to end shutdown, not declare national emergency, in Saturday speech, official says,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, January 18, 2019 10:12 pm