Two days after the record long US government shutdown ended, the White House has made clear that President Donald Trump is prepared to close the government again unless there is a border wall deal.

The president’s standoff with Democrats is far from over and the clock is ticking – the spending bill Trump signed on Friday funds the government agencies that had been shut down only until February 15.

Mr Trump seems girded for battle, sending out a series of online messages that foreshadowed the upcoming fight with lawmakers. “BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!” he tweeted.

His chief of staff was also warning that it could happen again.
“Yeah, I think he actually is (prepared for another shutdown),” Mick Mulvaney said.

He doesn’t want to shut the government down, let’s make that very clear. He doesn’t want to declare a national emergency.”

But Mr Mulvaney said that at “the end of the day, the president’s commitment is to defend the nation and he will do it with or without Congress.”

Hakeem Jeffries of New York, a member of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives, said his colleagues are looking for “evidence-based” legislation.

“Shutdowns are not legitimate negotiating tactics when there’s a public policy disagreement between two branches of government,” he said.

The key in the standoff is Mr Trump’s demand for $US5.7 billion ($A7.9 billion) for his prized wall at the US-Mexico border, a project Democrats consider ineffective and wasteful.

Kevin McCarthy, the leading Republican in the House, said Democrats have funded border barriers in the past and are refusing this time simply because Trump is asking for it.

“The president is the only one who has been reasonable in these negotiations,” he said.

Mr Trump says there is an immigration “crisis” at the southern border requiring a wall.