Congressional Democrats have rejected an invite from Donald Trump to attend a lunch meeting at the White House, as the president looks to build support for his border wall without Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. The White House has said no rank-and-file House Democrats will attend the lunch aimed at trying to end a record-setting partial government shutdown. It highlighted the limits of the White House’s new strategy of trying to bypass Democratic leaders to bolster Mr Trump’s position after requesting $5.7bn in funds to build the barrier with Mexico. The Independent
