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Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and a key negotiator in the ongoing showdown between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over border wall funding, said on Thursday that the nearly two-week partial shutdown of the federal government could last for “months.” House Democrats, who officially took control of the chamber on Thursday, plan to pass a clean spending bill without extra border wall funding this week, but the Senate isn’t expected to consider that legislation because Trump opposes it. “There are discussions, but there are not negotiations that are going on. There are not offers and counter-offers,” Meadows said of the standstill. Trump has asked for at least $5 billion to fund extra barriers at the southern border, but Democrats have opposed him. “The impasse is very real and very deep-seeded,” Meadows added.