Article snippet: MORE on Friday threatened to keep roughly a quarter of the federal government closed for years amid a dispute over border-wall funding, the latest sign the president and congressional Democrats remain far apart on resolving the two-week-long shutdown. Trump confirmed after a heated, closed-door meeting that he “absolutely” told Democrats the shutdown could last more than a year, which was first revealed by Senate Minority Leader MORE (D-N.Y.) following the negotiation session inside the White House Situation Room. “We told the president we needed the government open,” Schumer told reporters on the West Wing driveway after the meeting. “He resisted. In fact, he said he’d keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years.” Addressing the news media later in the Rose Garden, the president expressed hope that the shutdown would not last that long, citing what he believes is Democrats’ willingness to strike a deal. Despite the Democrats’ description of the two-hour meeting as “contentious,” Trump called it “productive” and said he appointed a working group of top administration officials to continue talks with lawmakers through the weekend. “I thought it was really a very, very good meeting. We're all on the same path in terms of wanting to get government open,” the president said during a news conference that lasted roughly an hour. But the president refused to back away from what he called his “very firm” demand for $5.6 billion in fund... Link to the full article to read more