Congress has not taken up a spending bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other parts of the government, as President Donald…
Congress has not taken up a spending bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other parts of the government, as President Donald Trump has previously insisted upon $5 billion for his planned border wall along the U. S. border with Mexico and Democrats have refused to budge on the matter. The White House on Tuesday, through Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, signaled a retreat from the president’s previous position to an as-of-yet-unexpressed willingness to compromise on the border wall funding as she blamed the Senate for the lack of a deal, all while a solution remains elusive.
While the White House has scaled back the original demand, the government remains unfunded past Friday with no apparent deal in Congress’s or the administration’s grasp yet–and that has opened up a circular firing squad among U. S. leaders over where responsibility lies. The blame game comes as the White House is backing down from President Trump’s original push for $5 billion in border wall funding in this spending bill.
Last week, Trump sounded off in a heated Oval Office argument with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi–the likely incoming Speaker of the House when Democrats take the majority in January after their midterm election boons–with both sides threatening to hold firm over the border wall money.
During a rare White House briefing on Tuesday, Sanders put the onus for a lack of a funding deal on Congress–particularly the Senate–and said the White House is waiting to see whatever can pass the chamber.
“You know, at this point, the Senate has thrown out a lot of ideas,” Sanders told reporters. “We’re disappointed in the fact that they’ve yet to actually vote on something and pass something.
