WH Has Reportedly Backed Down From Trump’s Border Wall Funding Threat

Despite President Donald Trump’s bluster in publicly demanding that Congress include funding for a border wall in a spending bill it needs to pass in September, the the Washington Post reported Friday afternoon that White House has since signaled to Republican leaders in Congress that the administration will not demand funding for the wall at the moment.

White House officials told members of Congress that they will not push for the $1.6 billion in wall funding in the short-term bill that must be passed in September, but will instead demand that it be included in a December bill to fund the government, anonymous congressional aides told the Washington Post.

These signals came not long after Trump’s fiery rally last month in Phoenix, Arizona, where he said he would be willing to shut down the federal government in order to secure funds for a wall along the southern border, according to the report.

“The obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me, if we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall,” Trump told the crowd in his free-wheeling, campaign-style speech.

This is the second time that the Trump administration has retreated from a major push for Congress to fund the border wall. After insisting in April that a funding bill include money for the wall, the White House relented and said that Trump would settle for provisions funding other aspects of border security.