Transcript for More than 800,000 government workers are without a paycheck
Next, we turn to politics. And the shutdown standoff leaving more than 800,000 government workers without a paycheck. President trump saying he could declare a national emergency within days if there’s no deal to build the wall. The vice president leading a second meeting with Democrats today. And with long lines, look at that, at some airports, are TSA workers calling out because they’re not getting paid? Here’s Tara Palmeri. Reporter: Tonight, with talks hopelessly deadlocked, president trump delivering this message to federal employees missing their first paycheck of the new year. I can relate, and I’m sure the people that are on the receiving end will make adjustments. They always do. And they’ll make adjustments. People understand exactly what’s going on. Reporter: The president is seriously considering declaring a national emergency at the border to bypass congress and build the wall himself. I may declare a national emergency depending on what is going to happen over the next two days. Reporter: It’s a move that would face backlash. I think the president would be wide open to a court challenge saying, where is the emergency? You have to establish that in order to do this. Reporter: The effects of the shutdown, growing. In New York’s Laguardia airport, this terminal, faced with long lines. A delta employee telling ABC news that some of the TSA officers who have been working without pay did not show up because of the shutdown. Please be patient with the officers who came to work. Reporter: In a statement, the TSA says call-outs have increased, but not by an unusual amount. Adding, the numbers are certainly not extraordinary. The president claiming the 800,000 federal employees affected are behind him in this fight. Many of those people that won’t be receiving a paycheck, many of those people agree 100% with what I’m doing. Reporter: Marilyn Carrothers works for the usda and says the bills are piling up. We want to go back to work. We need to go back to work. Because we have bills to pay. Reporter: Vice president Mike pence, senior adviser Jared Kushner, and dhs secretary kirstjen Nielsen, leaving another round of negotiations with democratic aides. President trump seeming to undermine those talks, saying only he and congressional leaders can solve the standoff. Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and myself can solve this in 20 minutes, if they want to. If they don’t want to, it’s going to go on for a long time. Reporter: Speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi telling CBS — The impression you get from the president is that he would like to not only close government, build a wall, but also abolish congress so the only voice that mattered was his own. Tara, joining us from the white house. The president evolving when it comes to what the wall will be made of, saying the wall will actually be a barrier made of steel? Reporter: That’s right, it’s not just a way for the president to offer Democrats political cover. According to the president’s chief of staff, there are legal restrictions over how border security money can be spent. Tom? Tara, thank you. Also out of Washington,
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
