White House Suggests Trump May Not Force Government Shutdown Over Border Wall

on October 30, 2018 in Sterling, Virginia.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 31: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks to the media on the driveway outside of the West Wing of the White House on October 31, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark ... WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 31: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks to the media on the driveway outside of the West Wing of the White House on October 31, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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President Trump may not force a partial government shutdown if he doesn’t get his demanded $5 billion for border wall funding after all, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders seemed to suggest Tuesday morning.

“We have other ways that we can get to that $5 billion,” she said on Fox News. “At the end of the day we don’t want to shut down the government, we want to shut down the border.”

That suggests a softening position after Trump publicly insisted last week that he wouldn’t accept any deal to avoid a partial government shutdown without major funding to build his long-sought wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump’s public pledge to back a partial shutdown and accept responsibility for it backed congressional Republicans into a corner, as Democrats have been steadfast in their refusal to accept border wall funding in a bipartisan deal to keep the government fully funded. More than a quarter of the government will run out of funding as of this Friday, and Republicans in both chambers have publicly said it’s up to Trump and Senate Democrats to negotiate a deal.

Sanders’ comments are a sign that the White House may fold in its demands, as it’s clear Democrats are holding firm and a shutdown is the only other option if they don’t cave.

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Notable Replies

  1. Maybe it’s sinking in that it’s time to circle the wagons?

  2. No one saw that coming. /s

  3. Bwahahaha total cave. Next time, Indy-1, believe Pelosi when she tells you your whip count.

  4. White House Suggests Trump May Not Force Government Shutdown Over Border Wall

    Of course he wont, the economy is about to crash (just got a letter from the chief economist at my financial adviser, recession expected in 2019) his doesn’t want to precipitate it.

  5. Of course he won’t because reasons
    All that remains to be seen is what line of Bullshit they come up with.
    He didn’t want to face the possibility of actually governing while trying to jam as many games of golf as he can during the break

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