House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a hard line Thursday against funding President Donald Trump’s long-stalled border wall, a move that could gridlock Capitol Hill negotiations that…
Published Thursday, Jan. 31,2019| 8:17 a.m.
Updated 6 minutes ago
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a hard line Thursday against funding President Donald Trump’s long-stalled border wall, a move that could gridlock Capitol Hill negotiations that just got underway.
„There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation,“ Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters. Her remarks came after Democrats had signaled at least some flexibility in the talks on border security funding that began only Wednesday.
Pelosi’s stance came as Trump used Twitter to reiterate his demands on the wall and appeared to sour on the congressional talks aimed at striking a deal with Democrats.
In a barrage of morning tweets, Trump sent mixed messages in which he alternately hardened his wall demand and also suggested that repairing existing fencing is a big part of his plan.
„Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!,“ Trump tweeted.
Democrats in the House have offered a vague border security plan that would not provide a penny for his wall, ignoring his warnings that they’d be wasting their time if they don’t come up with wall money.
Trump on Thursday tamped down expectations, telling GOP negotiators that they were „wasting their time.“
„Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and Caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I’ve got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!“ Trump tweeted.
Trump is considering declaring a national emergency and shifting billions of dollars in previously allocated funds to build the wall, and Pelosi’s move could push the president further in that direction.
The high-stakes talks are taking place against the backdrop of another possible shutdown in mid-February — an outcome Trump’s GOP allies in the Senate are especially eager to avoid.
