President not ‘thrilled’ with border agreement
Pact would grant $4.3B less than $5.7B he asked for in border barriers.
A day after top WASHINGTON — negotiators hammered out a tentative agreement on a plan to fund additional fencing along the Mexican border, along with deals on a series of bills to fully fund the operations of one-quarter of the federal government, President Donald Trump made clear Tuesday that he wasn’t pleased with the deal.
“I can’t say I’m happy,” the president said during a cabinet meeting at the White House. “I can’t say I’m thrilled.”
Asked if he was thinking about using national emergency powers to funnel money to a border wall, Trump wouldn’t rule that out.
“I’m considering everything,”
he said. “We’re building a wall.”
Trump said he d idn’t believe there would be another shutdown, which could have hit hundreds of thousands of federal workers again this weekend. “Everything” is on the table, he said at the White House, but “we certainly don’t want to see a shutdown.”
Trump did not say whether he would sign the funding plan — or veto it because of the final numbers on border security, as the $1.375 billion for border barriers was much less than the $5.7 billion he wanted from Congress, a dispute which led to the recent five-week partial government shutdown.
“It’s not doing the trick,” the president said to reporters.
T he deal provides for about 55 miles of new fencing on the border, but does not allow money to be used for a wall. Trump wanted funding for 215 miles.
Local members of Congress react
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, called the plan a “bad deal.”
On WHIO Radio Tuesday during the Sean Hannity Show, Jordan said Trump should “definitely declare the national emergency.”
Last month, Trump con- sulted with White House attorneys and allies about using presidential emer- gency powers to take uni- lateral action to construct the wall over the objections of Congress. He claimed his lawyers told him the action would withstand legal scru- tiny “100 percent.”
“The president is going to get this wall come heck or high water,” Jordan said.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, said on Twitter on Tuesday that negotiators pushed a proposal that “fails to give Customs and Border Patrol the resources they say they need to accomplish their mission. Meanwhile the real emergency is illegal immigration, not just necessar- ily walls.”
Sen. Rob Portman wants a deal to keep the govern- ment open.
“I look forward to review- ing the details of this agreement and I certainly hope we will be able to avert another shutdown,” Portman said.
Senate majority leader endorses plan
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Trump got a “pretty good deal” in border security negotiations, even though funding falls short for the long-promised wall with Mexico.
McConnell says he spoke with the president and recommended Tuesday that he sign the bill into law.
Congress is racing to prevent another partial government shutdown Friday over Trump’s $5.7 billion demand for the wall. The tentative deal provides about $1.4 billion.
The Republican leader said Trump did “just fine,” adding he hopes the presi- dent agrees.
McConnell also said he thinks the president should “feel free” to use other tools to secure the border.
Trump has talked about invoking a national emergency order or other options to build the wall. McConnell had previously cautioned against such a move.
It wasn’t clear how many rank-and-file GOP lawmakers would vote on the deal, as more conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus such as Jordan have signaled their opposition already.
Democrats back plan
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is urging Trump to accept the emerging border security deal and “not, not, not cause another shutdown.”
Schumer called the tentative accord “welcome news” and a “path forward.”
Schumer argued that neither side will achieve everything they wanted from the deal. But he says “hopefully this agreement means there won’t be another government shutdown.”
Congress faces a Friday night funding deadline to try to avoid a second partial government shutdown — the president said if there is a shutdown at this point, he would blame it on Democrats in Congress.