Article snippet: Speaker down payment” on a border wall as a condition to reopen the government. Walking off the House floor, Pelosi said the proposal is "not a reasonable" one. Moments earlier, Trump told reporters at the White House that he had a number of “alternatives” for reopening the government with funding for his border wall. Among them, he said, is demanding that Democrats agree to “some sort of pro-rated down payment on the wall.” He did not put a figure on the request. “We have to have the wall,” Trump said. Senate Majority Leader MORE (D-N.Y.) had huddled in the Capitol shortly before Trump spoke. The Senate had just rejected two competing bills to reopen the government — one championed by Republicans and the other by Democrats — and the party leaders are searching for a path forward. Trump, asked if he would support a hypothetical McConnell-Schumer compromise, was elusive. “If they come to a reasonable agreement I would support it, yes,” he said. The back-and-forth came on day 34 of the budget impasse, which has denied funding for roughly a quarter of the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security. Trump has insisted that any spending package include $5.7 billion for new construction of a wall on the U.S. Mexico border he’d promised voters during the 2016 campaign. Democrats have countered with billions of dollars for border security measures — including stronger surveillance technologies, more immigration judges and new roads — but have rejec... Link to the full article to read more