U.S. gov’t up against a wall
Trump threatens shutdown over border fence money
WASHINGTON — With a partial government shutdown possible on Dec. 7, President Donald Trump has met with Republican leaders to hash out a spending plan that includes money for Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
Trump is seeking $5 billion for the wall, which he made a centrepiece of his 2016 campaign and said Mexico would pay for, and he is stepping up pressure on Congress to provide it. Trump said he would “totally be willing” to shut down the government if he doesn’t receive the wall money he wants.
House Republicans approved $5 billion for Trump’s wall in a key committee, but a bipartisan bill in the Senate allocates just $1.6 billion for the border.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called Tuesday’s White House meeting “very productive” and said Trump “is very solid with where he wants to go and what he needs to have a secure border.”
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., took a hard line on the negotiations, saying Democrats will soon face a crucial question: “Are they going to shut down the government because they don’t want to keep America safe?”
Trump said he is considering a backup plan if Congress rejects his demand for the $5 billion, possibly including the continued use of troops and razor wire to prevent migrants from entering the country. He told The Washington Post that if he doesn’t get the money, there are other ways he could get it done.
But he has expressed impatience. “I am firm,” he said in an interview published Wednesday in Politico.
“I don’t do anything ... just for political gain,” Trump said. “But I will tell you, politically speaking, that issue is a total winner. People look at the border, they look at the rush to the police, they look at the rock throwers and really hurting three people, three very brave border patrol folks — I think that it’s a tremendous issue, but much more importantly, is really needed. So, we have to have border security.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Trump administration hasn’t even spent the $1.6 billion Congress approved in the current budget for the wall.
With Republicans in control of the presidency, the House and the Senate, “a shutdown is on their back,” Schumer said Tuesday. “Stick to the $1.6 billion.”
Democrats and GOP leaders struck a deal earlier this year to fund nearly threefourths of the government into next year. Left undone, however, is funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the border, and a few other agencies.
They’re now running on stopgap funds set to expire Dec. 7.