Senate showing resistance to Trump suggested funding cuts

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans were at odds with President Donald Trump on Tuesday over a White House request to cut more than $18 billion from programs such as education and medical research to help fund $30 billion in new defense spending and construction of a southern border wall.

Several top Republicans rejected the cuts, which were detailed in a memo from White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.

The disagreement comes as Republicans and Democrats are working to finalize negotiations on a spending bill to fund the government past April 28 and avoid government shutdown within the first several months of Trump’s presidency.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, avoided making any direct commitment on whether the border wall would be included in the upcoming spending bill. McConnell said Tuesday that he expects that there will be a bipartisan spending bill and that a vote to fund the wall would happen in a separate supplemental bill sometime later this year.

But several top GOP senators openly dismissed Trump’s calls for cuts on Tuesday and generally avoided any talk of funding the border wall in the upcoming spending bill. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., was one of a half-dozen Republicans engaged in spending negotiations to say in interviews Tuesday that Trump’s requests were not likely to be fulfilled.

Republicans maintain a slim 52-48 advantage in the Senate and they cannot risk alienating Democrats if they hope to muster the 60 votes necessary to pass a stopgap spending bill before the April 28 deadline.