US President Donald Trump has said he could declare a national emergency to build a US-Mexico border wall without the approval of Congress.
It came after he met senior Democrats, who refused his requests for funding.
The stand-off has seen Mr Trump withhold support for a bill to fully fund the government until he gets money for the border wall.
He said he was prepared for the partial government shutdown – now in its third week – to last years.
Around 800,000 federal workers have been without pay since 22 December. Read more