Trump and Congress have until Friday to reach a deal over his proposed funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, according to reports.
At the current pace, the deadline will not be met and a partial government shutdown will trigger as Trump’s Democratic opponents refuse to allocate any money for the wall.
According to AP:
Both major political parties in Congress have suggested that Trump would likely need to make the next move to resolve the impasse. The House is taking an extended weekend break, returning Wednesday night. The Senate returns Monday after a three-day absence.
The Democratic congressional leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, have proposed no more than $1.6 billion, as outlined in a bipartisan Senate bill. The money would not go for the wall but for fencing upgrades and other border security. Democrats also offered to simply keep funding at its current level, $1.3 billion.
Trump directly acknowledged Schumer’s and Pelosi’s proposal as insufficient in a Monday tweet saying a border wall will actually save money and is essential for national security.
Anytime you hear a Democrat saying that you can have good Border Security without a Wall, write them off as just another politician following the party line. Time for us to save billions of dollars a year and have, at the same time, far greater safety and control!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 17, 2018
Correspondingly, executive action from the president may be the only play forward as “no progress” is being made otherwise.
Here’s what Reuters had to say:
The money Trump wants is only a small fraction of the roughly $450 billion Congress was poised to approve – before the latest battle over the proposed wall – to fund several agencies which will otherwise run out of money on Dec. 21.
…Several Republican and Democratic congressional aides on Friday said there was no apparent progress being made toward resolving the standoff, after Trump and leading congressional Democrats battled each other on Tuesday in front of television cameras in the White House Oval Office.
…[An] aide noted that Republicans, who will control both houses of Congress until Jan. 3, will not be able to muster the minimum 218 votes needed in the House to pass a funding bill if it contains Trump’s demand for border wall money, which Democrats oppose.
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