By Jennifer Haberkorn
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a sign of defeat for the White House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday morning that he would introduce a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running through Feb. 8.
The White House has not made clear whether President Donald Trump would sign such a bill, but the administration seemed on Tuesday to back off its insistence on including $5 billion for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
The president indicated in a tweet that he was ready to move on, suggesting without details that the military could construct his desired wall.
“In our Country, so much money has been poured down the drain, for so many years, but when it comes to Border Security and the Military, the Democrats fight to the death,” he wrote. “We won on the Military, which is being completely rebuilt. One way or the other, we will win on the Wall!”
Money for a wide swath of government agencies is due to run out Friday evening. The short-term funding bill would avoid a holiday shutdown but kick a new spending fight into the new year, when the House will be controlled by Democrats.
Senate Republicans have consistently promised to avoid a shutdown. But Trump made their negotiations with Democrats more difficult when he said in an Oval Office meeting with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer that he would be “proud” to shut down the government over the border wall.
“The president is right that we must secure our borders,” said Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “I hope that this (spending bill) will provide us the time to work out our differences in a thoughtful manner and reach a bipartisan consensus on important national priorities.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders indicated this week that the administration would find a way to move around existing funds in order to build the border wall.
Schumer warned that the executive branch cannot do that without the approval of Congress.
“They cannot do it on their own, and the House and Senate will not approve a wall,” he said on the Senate floor. “From reprogrammed funds or anything else, it won’t happen.”
