Trump isn’t ‘thrilled’ with border deal, but says he doesn’t expect another shutdown
the southern border, the government shut down.
This time, Republicans want to make sure Trump supports the deal before they vote.
“We’ll just have to see,” Shelby said. “He could sign it. I think he’ll probably sign it. But he might not.”
“Nobody’s humming ‘One Shining Moment’ yet. I’m certainly not,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-LA., referring to the song traditionally played at the end of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Rep. Tom Graves, R-GA., a member of the conference committee that put together the plan, said he hadn’t seen the details yet and expressed skepticism. “I haven’t signed off on the reported ‘deal’ nor have I seen it,” he wrote on Twitter. “Based on the reports, I have concerns. Lots of questions too.”
Shelby and other GOP leaders framed the plan as a “down payment” on the wall. In recent weeks, Trump has backed down from his demand for a concrete wall, and Republicans say fencing would be just as good as a wall. But Trump has also said that if Congress does not provide taxpayer funds for a wall, he will use his executive power or declare a national emergency to try to divert money from other military or disaster programs for a wall. Many GOP lawmakers are encouraging Trump to divert existing money, though some oppose declaring an emergency to do so.
The tentative plan calls for $1.375 billion in border fencing, well short of what Trump originally demanded for a wall, and even less than the $1.6 billion in fencing offered by Senate Democrats in December to avoid the shutdown.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to build a 1,000-mile wall that Mexico would pay for.
The latest deal provides for about 55 miles of new fencing – such as “steel slats” or “bollard fencing” – to be constructed along the border in the Rio Grande Valley. It would not allow money to be used for a wall.
Democrats backed down from their earlier demand for new limits on the ability of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants.
The plan would fund the Department of Homeland Security – the agency at the center of the border security funding battle – as well as other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department. It is not expected to include funding for relief from disasters, such as the wildfires in California, according to a congressional aide.
Many Democrats in the House have not yet weighed in publicly. Progressives are wary of providing funding for more