White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday said he “can’t guarantee” the government won’t shut down on Friday when it’s set to run out of money. But he said White House aides are “very confident” that Congress will pass a spending bill to keep the lights on.
“How confident are you that there will not be a shutdown?”ABC’s Jon Karl asked Spicer at his daily briefing. “Can you, from that podium, guarantee that there will not be a government shutdown?”
“I can’t guarantee — but I think that the work that Director Mulvaney and others have made in these negotiations has been very positive,” Spicer replied, referring to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. “They feel very confident that that won’t happen.”
“So he won’t insist that his priorities get funded on the border, the wall, increased security?” Karl asked. President Donald Trump has pushed for funding for his proposed border wall to be included in the spending bill.
“That’s not what I said,” Spicer said. “Look, they’re currently negotiating. We feel very confident that they understand the President’s priorities and that we’ll come to an agreement by the end of Friday.”
