Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) on Monday said he isn’t willing to risk a government shutdown by refusing to back down on President Donald Trump’s push to get his border wall funded in a spending bill Congress must pass by midnight Friday.
“I wouldn’t risk a $1 trillion funding bill for a $3 billion wall,” Cole said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
He said Republicans can try to get the funding “another way, another time.”
“There are some things Democrats want. There may be a possibility for a trade. But we can come back and get this at another point if there’s not,” Cole said. “The most important thing is to make sure the military’s funded, to make sure the critical institutions of government are funded and to make sure you don’t have a shutdown while you’ve got a Republican President, a Republican Senate and a Republican House.”
Top White House aides over the weekend were unclear as to whether Trump would sign a spending bill that didn’t include funding for his proposed wall.
“I would suspect he will be insistent on the funding,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Saturday.
“We don’t know yet,” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday.
Warning sign for Trump—GOP Rep. Tom Cole: "I wouldn't risk a trillion funding bill for a 3 billion dollar wall." https://t.co/3vHz8RPxsZ
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 24, 2017
