Trump warns Congress: Build that wall, or the govt will close down
Pushing the government to the brink of a partial shutdown, the White House is insisting that Congress provide US$5 billion to build a wall along the US-Mexico border despite lawmaker resistance from both parties.
Without a resolution, parts of the federal government will shut down at midnight Friday.
“We’re going to do whatever is necessary to build the border wall to stop this ongoing crisis of illegal immigration,” White House senior adviser Stephen Miller said Sunday.
Asked if that meant having a government shutdown, he said: “If it comes to it, absolutely.”
Trump said last week he would be “proud” to have a shutdown to get Congress to approve a US$5 billion down payment to fulfil his campaign promise to build a border wall. But the president doesn’t have the votes from the Republican-controlled Congress.
Both parties in Congress have suggested that Trump would likely need to make the next move to resolve the impasse. The House is taking an extended weekend break, returning tomorrow night. The Senate was due to return yesterday.
Democratic congressional leaders, Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi, have proposed no more than US$1.6 billion, as outlined in a bipartisan Senate bill.
The money would not go for the wall but for fencing upgrades and other border security. Democrats also offered to simply keep funding at its current level, US$1.3 billion.
Showing no signs of budging, Schumer said on Sunday that it was up to Trump to decide whether the federal government will partially shut down, sending thousands of federal employees home without pay during the holidays.
About one-quarter of the government would be affected, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Agriculture, State and Justice, as well as national parks.
“He is not going to get the wall in any form,” Schumer said.
Trump had neither accepted nor rejected the Democrats’ proposal as of Friday, according to the Democrats, telling them he would take a look.
Trump will need Democratic votes either way, now or in the new year, for passage.
Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, the No.3 Republican in the Senate, said Republicans remain hopeful they can come up with a proposal that can be acceptable to Trump and pass both chambers. He suggested that could take the form of a stopgap bill that extends funding until January, or a longer-term bill.
“There are a lot of things you need to do with border security,” he said. “One is a physical barrier but also the technology, the manpower, the enforcement, all of those things, and our current laws are in some ways an incentive for people to come to this country illegally, and they go through great risk and possibly great harm.”
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