Donald Trump's team sanctions Venezuela, pushes China trade talks and makes another border wall pitch

WASHINGTON – The White House used its first news conference in more than a month to push a variety of agenda items: New economic sanctions on Venezuela, new trade talks with China, and old arguments about how Congress can avoid another shutdown by funding a border wall.

Conducting her first formal news briefing in 41 days, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump cannot rule out another shutdown or a declaration of emergency next month until he sees whether Congress is willing to fund a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

"We don't want another government shutdown," Sanders said. "We want a deal."

The Monday news conference came three days after Trump agreed to end the record-breaking 35-day partial government shutdown for three weeks while lawmakers continue to negotiate border security issues, including Trump's call for $5.7 billion in border wall funding.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrats say they will oppose what they regard as an expensive and unnecessary wall.

As lawmakers negotiate, Sanders downplayed talk of the alternatives should Congress fail to reach consensus by Feb. 15: Another shutdown or a declaration of a national emergency that would theoretically allow Trump to use defense money for the wall, but would surely be challenged in court.

"The best fix is to able to do it legislatively," Sanders said.

The shutdown discussion came after the administration made announcements about economic issues involving Venezuela and China.

In announcing sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil business, administration officials said they are trying to ratchet up the pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to give up power to opposition leader Juan Guaido.

"Effective immediately, any purchases of Venezuelan oil by U.S. entities, (the) money will have to go into blocked accounts," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said during the first White House news briefing since Dec. 18, four days before the shutdown began.

Also appearing in the press room, National Security Adviser John Bolton said $7 billion in Venezuelan oil assets will be blocked as of Monday.

Asked about possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, Bolton said: "All options are on the table."

As for China, administration officials announced they will meet Wednesday and Thursday with a delegation from China to work out a new trade agreement in an effort to head off a tariff war.

Mnuchin noted that the U.S. and China face a March 1 deadline before new tariffs kick in, deepening a trade war conflict that has roiled markets across the globe. This week's set of meetings is more about making progress than reaching a final agreement, the treasury secretary said.

"We do have another 30 days after this," Mnuchin said. "These are complicated issues."

The United States and China have accused each other of unfair trade practices for years. The administration announced the new round of talks the same day that it filed fraud charges against Chinese tech giant Huawei, accusing it of stealing trade secrets.

For good measure, the White House used its now-rare news briefing to have economic adviser Larry Kudlow promote new economic numbers, claiming things are in good shape despite analysts who say that the shutdown and Trump's tariff policies threaten a recession.

“I still think the economy’s very strong," Kudlow said. "I know there’s some disagreement.”

The White House never really gave a reason for cutting back on its news briefings. In recent weeks, Sanders and other officials have done informal gaggles with reporters in the White House driveway following their appearances on television news programs.

On Twitter last week, Trump blamed the way some reporters covered Sanders.

"The press covers her so rudely & inaccurately, in particular certain members of the press,” Trump said. “I told her not to bother, the word gets out anyway!"

More: Nancy Pelosi invites Donald Trump to deliver State of the Union speech at Capitol on Feb. 5

More: Trump administration slaps sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump's team sanctions Venezuela, pushes China trade talks and makes another border wall pitch