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Erica Werner
Congress reporter on economic policy
John Wagner
A national journalist at the head of the political press team of the newspaper The Post
The Senate Intends to Adopt a Majority Proposal Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Majority Leader, announced Wednesday that a short-term spending bill would keep the government open until the end of the year. to February 8, while depriving President Trump of the money he wanted for his border wall.
deadlock on Trump's funding applications by the wall that threatened to cause a partial closure of the government this weekend, while the Department of Homeland Security and a large number of federal agencies s exhaust, friday at midnight.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Trump had expressed his support, but that the president could change his mind.
McConnell's announcement comes after the White House announced Wednesday that it could accept a short-term spending bill. [19659008] Speaking to reporters, White House advisor Kellyanne Conway said Trump would "certainly" consider an extension of short-term funding, known as a "permanent resolution," which would prevent a partial closure of the government at midnight on Friday, if lawmakers can not agree on a broader agreement.
Although this approach allows a defeat against Congress just before the Democrats take control of the House, Trump again insisted on Wednesday that the army could build the wall, a prospect fraught with legal complications . [19659010] "In one way or another, we will win on the wall!" Said Trump in a morning tweet. In another paper, he tried to argue that "due to" the massive influx of criminals and drugs, "the army would be justified in building a border wall
Last week Trump told Democratic leaders of Congress that he would be "proud." "To close the government to get its wall money. But in recent days, the Democrats have resisted his demand and the Republicans seemed more and more eager to avoid a partial halt to Christmas.
On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee had begun drafting a short-term bill that would have the government Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), Chairman of the committee, postpone the government's funding in the next month. February.
During an early morning television appearance, Conway claimed that Trump had not softened his position on the wall, but said the White House wanted to see what Congress would produce.
"The President declared that he was ready to do what he had to do to ensure the security of the border, including the closure of the government," she told Fox & Friends. we will see what the Senate and the House do, what they bring together and present to the Speaker. We do not know what will happen to his office. "
She said that if Congress had worked successfully with Trump on other issues, lawmakers seemed" to be going "on border security.
She also reiterated. White House opinion that it could reallocate funds from other areas, a strategy that limits the powers of Congress in matters of appropriations.
"There are other ways to get this money, "said Conway." He will not back down. "
The Trump ultimatum prevents spending by the Department of Homeland Security and many other agencies representing about 25% of the federal government, all of which will start Hundreds of thousands of unpaid workers if Congress and Trump do not act before the deadline.
McConnell told reporters Tuesday that there would not be any closing.
Experts in mult budget iple said that it would be illegal for Trump to take money from the Pentagon and redirect it to building a wall. At a minimum, such a change would require the approval of at least four congressional committees, two of which will be controlled by Democrats in two weeks.
"If Congress does not have the funds to build a wall, you can not just use other means. Todd Harrison, Director of Defense Budget Analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
If Trump ordered the army to build a wall anyway, Democrats or landowners could sue and immediately stop the construction. Trump has also not revealed how he plans to manage all the private property that runs along the Texas border. If he ordered the army to effectively seize this land through an eminent domain, many other legal issues would arise.
Congress passed a spending bill for military programs until September 2019, giving the White House even less flexibility to reclaim existing premises. funds. But White House officials have gone through the budget rules for weeks and could try to combine a number of unrelated programs to facilitate the construction of a barrier.
Congress passed several spending bills over the past year that allowed the administration to repair and rebuild existing portions of boundary walls and even add new gates but these projects have failed. far from the range sought by Trump during the campaign.
A partial government shutdown would be the third of this year, after the malfunctioning of the final Congressional budget imposed two brief rulings in January and February before legislators managed to put their spending in order. But this effort has again failed in the recent fighting at the border, as Trump was seeking funds from taxpayers for a wall he had long claimed to pay for Mexico.
In one of his tweets Wednesday, Trump again claimed that Mexico would pay for the wall. "indirectly" through a pending trade agreement with Canada and Mexico – a concept that its advisers have trouble explaining.
Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary, said Tuesday that funding would come from new revenues from the Treasury Department driven by economic growth, but it would be very difficult to accurately measure, if not to all.
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