To avoid a partial government shutdown at the beginning of December, lame-duck Republican House leadership’s moves in coming weeks will be calculated and centered on producing a border wall funding plan that will keep President Trump happy, Politico reported.
Ahead of the midterms, Trump reluctantly agreed to save the battle for his wall until after the election. Now, wary of Democratic support, Republicans hope to pacify the President — whose wall will ultimately cost $25 billion — with a $5 billion budget for the project, doled out over two years.
According to a Republican senator who spoke to Politico, Trump has dismissed the idea, but indicated to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) before Thanksgiving that anything less than $5 billion would be “unacceptable,” in Politico’s words. Outgoing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and the new GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) will meet with Trump Tuesday to discuss their strategy, Politico reported.
Democrats reportedly already have a deal that would allocate $1.6 billion to border security.
