File Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Aug. 17, 2018. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to shut down the federal government, contradicting a stance he took days earlier.
"If it happens it happens. If it's about border security, I'm willing to do anything," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
"If we don't protect our borders our country isn't going to be a country, so if it's about border security I'm willing to do what has to be done," the president added.
The remarks came ahead of Trump's meeting with congressional leaders over the legislative agenda for the next few months, including extending funding for the federal government past a Sept. 30 deadline.
Trump fired off threats to shut down the government in late July but appeared to back off recently.
During an interview with The Daily Caller published earlier Wednesday, Trump said he doesn't like the idea of government shutdowns.
"I don't see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now," he added.
House Speaker Paul Ryan told a press conference earlier in the day that a shutdown was "not in anyone's interest, and he knows that."
The U.S. Congress is working on passing a series of funding packages for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Trump could force a partial shutdown of the government in October if he vetoes the funding bills.
The U.S. federal government has occasionally been shut down in recent years, mostly when Congress failed to reach a spending bill due to political infighting.
