Trump pivots: President backs away from border wall money demand
Politics
Trump pivots: President backs away from border wall money demand
President Trump late Monday may have removed a major obstacle to a bipartisan budget deal just days ahead of a government shutdown deadline when he reportedly said he would not push for funding for his controversial border wall. The president told a gathering of conservative media reporters that he would forgo until September the issue of funding the wall’s construction. The White House is planning, as early as Tuesday, to pivot to a message of general satisfaction on border security and will suggest that Democrats would be to blame if a shutdown were to happen.
It’s good for the country that President Trump is taking the wall off the table in these negotiations. Now the bipartisan and bicameral negotiators can continue working on the outstanding issues.
Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate minority leader
The wall was the most pressing issue confronting lawmakers as they returned from a two-week spring recess to face a critical deadline. Congress must pass a $1 trillion catch-all spending bill to pay for all government agencies or trigger a partial shutdown Saturday, which happens to coincide with the 100th day of Trump’s presidency. The border wall money is fiercely opposed by Democrats and some Republicans, and funding for it stood to keep the budget bill from going forward.
I’m optimistic. I don’t think anybody wants a shutdown.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
