WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump yesterday edged towards backing a deal in Congress on funding for a barrier on the Mexican border, but left open the possibility that disputes over the wall could still cause a partial government shutdown by the weekend.
Trump, widely blamed for a five-week shutdown that ended in January, said he did not want to see federal agencies close again because of fighting over funds for the wall, one of his signature campaign promises in the 2016 election.
But the Republican president fell short of committing himself to backing the congressional deal, which would keep the government open but not give Trump the $5.7 billion he seeks for the wall.
“I don’t want to see a shutdown. A shutdown would be a terrible thing. I think a point was made with the last shutdown. People realised how bad the border is, how unsafe the border is, and I think a lot of good points were made,” Trump said.
Sources said Trump will likely approve the funding agreement, but the president said he would hold off on a decision until he sees actual legislation about the issue. He warned legislators against “land mines,” or parts of the bill he may not like.
“We haven’t gotten it (the legislation) yet. We’ll be getting it. We’ll be looking for land mines,” Trump said.
With a tomorrow night deadline looming before a shutdown, that leaves little time for the White House and the political parties in Congress to agree on funding.
The congressional agreement, reached by negotiators on Monday night, falls far short of giving Trump all the money he wants to help build the wall. Instead, congressional sources say, it includes $1.37bn for new barriers – about the same as last year – along 90km of the border.
Details of the legislation were still being written, but the full bill could be made public as early as Wednesday evening, according to legislators and congressional aides.
The accord must be passed by the House of Representatives, dominated by Democrats, and the Republican-controlled Senate, then signed by Trump by tomorrow midnight to prevent a shutdown.
The measure’s fate in the House was far from certain given the risk that some conservatives and liberals will oppose the compromise for different reasons.