United States lawmakers and the White house have less than five days to prevent another government shutdown. Budget negotiators said that talks on border security were “back on track” after a stall on Sunday.

The border was also the main focus for President Donald Trump, with his trip to Texas for a campaign rally.  CGTN’s Owen Fairclough reported.

Be travelling to El Paso, Texas, to rally his base, U.S. President Donald Trump touched on his most pressing domestic issue at the White House. He declared that border security wouldn’t work without “the wall.”

In Washington DC, another partial government shutdown looms. In addition to objecting to Trump’s demands for $5.7 billion to fund the wall, opposition Democrats were also unhappy with Republicans who want to expand detention facilities for people crossing the border illegally.

Legislation must pass both the House and Senate – each controlled by rival parties – by Friday to avoid another shutdown of all but essential services.

Trump’s acting chief of staff acknowledged this was a possibility.

“That government shutdown is technically still on the table. We do not want it to come to that, but that option is still open to the president and will remain so,” Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Having already deployed thousands of troops to the border, Trump can in theory declare a national emergency to force through funding for the wall.

But its legality is disputed and would be subject to immediate court challenges.

The last shutdown cost the U.S. economy $11 billion and put a number of unpaid government employees in debt. Voters blamed Trump for that shutdown and another would test their mood for re-electing him next year.

Rafael Bernal discusses the US border wall

CGTN’s Mike Walter spoke with Rafael Bernal, a staff writer with the Latino section of The Hill newspaper, which covers U.S. politics, about how the U.S. border wall is shaping politics.