US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence walk up the stairs as they arrive at the US Capitol for a Senate Republican policy lunch, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019, in Washington. (Photo: AP)

US Vice President Mike Pence says Democrats were "unwilling to even negotiate" an end to the partial government shutdown and the standoff over President Donald Trump’s desire for a border barrier.

Pence spoke outside the West Wing after a contentious meeting Wednesday between Trump and congressional leaders.

Pence says, "I think the president made his position very clear today that there will be no deal without a wall."

Pence says Trump asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi whether she would be willing to agree to funding for a wall or a barrier on the southern border if he re-opened the government quickly.

Pence says, "When she said 'No', the president said 'Goodbye'."

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump had a "temper tantrum". Pence says of the president, "I don't recall him ever raising his voice."

Top Democrats say President Donald Trump walked out of a meeting with congressional leaders as talks to end the partial government shutdown remain at an impasse.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Wednesday’s White House meeting whether she would agree to fund his wall.

When she said "no", Schumer says, Trump got up and said, "Then we have nothing to discuss." Schumer says, "And he just walked out."

Schumer is calling Trump's actions "really, really unfortunate."

Trump is also weighing in on the meeting by tweet, calling it "a total waste of time".

He tweets that once Pelosi rejected his long-stalled border wall, he "said bye-bye, nothing else works!"

Congressional leaders from both parties have returned to the White House for another round of negotiations with President Donald Trump on the ongoing partial government shutdown.

The two sides have made no apparent progress in the past week, with Trump sticking to his demand of $5.7 billion for a border barrier and Democrats insisting they won't give him the money.

Trump has been making a public case that there is a "crisis" at the southern border. And he's still threatening to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress if he can’t get the wall money from them.

He told reporters during a visit to the Capitol earlier Wednesday that he may turn to a declaration "at some point" if top Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi "don't agree" with his assessment about the problems at the border.