House OKs payment on border wall

WASHINGTON — House Republican allies of President Donald Trump are intent on giving him a long-sought victory in Congress by finally making a down payment on his longpromised wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

They just don’t want to risk an up-or-down vote on the idea that might risk an embarrassing loss on the House floor. The $1.6 billion cost will be covered by U.S. taxpayers, not Mexico, as Trump promised during the campaign. Action this week comes about three months after Democrats blocked an earlier attempt to deliver a down payment on Trump’s project.