Trump to get far less than what he wanted for wall
AVERTING SHUTDOWN We are building the wall anyway, US president tells Texas rally
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trumps said on Tuesday he is “not happy” with a preliminary deal reached by Congressional negotiators to avert another government shutdown, as it did not allocate much of the money he had sought for a border wall.
“I’m not happy about it. It’s not doing the trick,” Trump said in his first remarks on the agreement. Trump said he is “adding things to it,” without divulging if he will sign it or not.
“I don’t think you’re going to see a shutdown. If you did have it, it’s the Democrats’ fault,” he added.
Trump’s reaction appeared to be in line with some conservatives who dismissed the “agreement in principle” reached on Monday night as a “garbage compromise” and a “bad deal”.
The deal alloted nowhere near the money Trump sought for the wall along the Mexico border to check illegal immigration. It sets aside $1.375 billion for a 55-mile long fence, as against the $5.7 billion he wanted for a 200-mile wall, or any kind of a physical barrier. As a part of the agreement, Democrats dropped their demand to limit immigration agencies’ detention facilities.
The deal was announced just minutes before the president took the stage at a rally in El Paso, a Texas city bordering Mexico. He told the supporters he had been briefed on the agreement and went on to state, “Just so you know — we’re building the wall anyway.” Banners behind him said, “Finish the wall”.
The president could still declare a national emergency, which he said is among his options, and find the money in budgetary allocations of other government agencies. But that option is not popular even with Republicans and Democrats are likely to challenge it in courts.
The in-principle agreement needs to be put in a legislation for passage by both chambers of US Congress before landing on the president’s desk for his signature and enactment before the end of the day Friday. Else, portions of the federal government that reopened January-end after 35 days will be shut down again.
Senator Richard Shelby, the lead Republican negotiator, told reporters late Monday evening that an “agreement in principle” had been reached and that “Our staffs are going to be working feverishly to put all the particulars together.”