10 things you need to know today: December 12, 2018

Trump says he'd be proud to shut down the government, a gunman attacks a French Christmas market, and more

Trump, Pelosi, and Schumer in the Oval Office
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

1. Trump says he'd be proud to shut down government over wall

President Trump clashed with Congress' top two Democrats Tuesday over funding for his promised border wall in a meeting in the Oval Office. The discussion between Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was billed as a bid to make progress toward avoiding a looming government shutdown scheduled to hit just before Christmas, but the explosive meeting ended with Trump saying he would be "proud to shut down the government for border security." The discussion appeared to grow confrontational after Pelosi, in a show of Democrats' newfound strength as they prepare to take control of the House in January, said the two sides should work together to prevent a "Trump shutdown." The exchange spiraled downward from there, with Trump taking offense and reacting with what Schumer described as a "temper tantrum."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.