Congress appears to be near a deal on border security and government funding, but it’s unclear if the President will be on board.
Politico Congress appears to be near a deal on government funding and border security reports that would avert the possibility of a shutdown a week from now, but it’s unclear where the White House stands:
Congressional negotiators are nearing a deal on border security to avoid a government shutdown — if the president will accept it.
Democrats and Republicans have been trading offers all week; any deal is likely to provide funding for technology and fencing on the southern border, according to senators and aides. Republicans were preparing a counteroffer to the latest Democratic proposal on Wednesday night, according to one senator familiar with negotiations.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) went to the White House on Thursday to brief President Donald Trump on the negotiations and efforts to steer clear of a shutdown at the end of next week. He seemed buoyed after the sit-down with Vice President Mike Pence and Trump, who told Shelby it was time for negotiators to “wrap it up, get a legislative solution.”
“This is the most positive I’ve been or I’ve seen in the talks since, oh gosh, maybe ever… since last fall,” Shelby said. “If we can work within some of the parameters that we talked about today, that we’ll keep to ourselves right now, I think he would sign it.”
Shelby added that by Monday, “We hope we’ve got a deal. If we haven’t got a deal we probably won’t get a deal.”
Still, it will take a more firm and public commitment from Trump to make most on Capitol Hill feel confident about the state of play. The president is certain to receive less than the $5.7 billion he demanded for a border wall during the recent 35-day partial government shutdown.
But he’s likely to be presented with few other options: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposes a short-term funding bill to extend talks and there’s no desire for the president to declare a national emergency to secure funding on his own among GOP leaders.
