Trump demands a border wall but many Republican lawmakers are not convinced

President Trump criticized Congress on Thursday for failing to deliver his long-promised border wall, releasing a tweet accusing the Democrats of "hindering" border security and demanding that "Republicans must finally be tough!"

The problem for Trump is that it was his own GOP allies – not just his political opponents – who opposed each other.

The same Republican legislators who rushed to pay the tax bill that Trump wanted, confirmed his first choice of the Supreme Court and fight to defend his second, and have remained largely deferred to many scandals. memorable campaign promises – to judge the wall impractical, unrealistic and too expensive.

"People can climb the wall or go under the wall or through the wall. We have seen it in different places, "said Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), Republican of Senate No. 2, explaining why a system of technology, infrastructure and personnel is preferable to a physical wall. "If you have nothing to do without sensors, without technology, without staff, then it will not work."

Another powerful Republican, the chairman of the Senate appropriation committee, Senator Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), Said he had told Trump that funding a 2,000-mile wall could jeopardize the money and other programs.

"Some things are reachable and some things are not," Shelby told Trump. "I am determined to secure borders no matter what is needed in this country; it's something we have not done. But I also pledge to finance the government. "

The GOP's reticence on the wall underscores the extent to which immigration and border issues continue to plague the past two years since Trump took office, promising to take a hard line on the issue.

The idea of ​​building a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico remains very popular among Trump's main supporters, with songs from "Building That Wall" still ringing at his rallies and many candidates mid-term. In Florida, governor candidate Ron DeSantis published an ad campaign to urge his grandson to build a wall using building blocks.

But the question is not so clear for many other Republicans. Border States' legislators are confronted with the concerns of landowners and businesses who may be facing disturbances related to the construction of a massive barrier. Others represent states and districts with large Hispanic electoral groups that could be dismissed by this idea, while others claim that the idea of ​​a large wall can be a beautiful one. applause but may divert valuable funds from more essential government functions.

Behind all rationalization lies a worsening reality: many congressional Republicans are simply not in Trump's wall.

Now, Republican leaders are more determined to ask Trump to delay the fight for the wall than to fight to do it themselves. The Congress is working to pass a short-term spending bill that would prevent the government from shutting down on Oct. 1 and ending a wall-to-wall contest in December after the November deadline.

[Senate passes defense and health spending bill, tries to delay border-wall fight to after midterms]

Republican leaders lobbied Trump to maintain their strategy, which would lead to a sharp increase in Pentagon spending. Trump has publicly speculated that closing the government to get more money out of the wall could be a good policy, but Republicans fear that a shutdown just before the elections is disastrous.

Nobody knows what Trump will do, and some White House officials have begun preparing an emergency plan for the partial closure that would occur if Trump opposed the bill.

Trump is informed by assistants that he will get more money after the elections – even though many people in the White House are worried about the lack of votes, according to a Trump advisor who requested anonymity for speak freely. Trump often asks what is the strategy for getting money after the elections.

"I want to know, where are the funds for border security and the wall in this ridiculous spending bill, and where will it come after the Midterms? Dems are obstructing law enforcement and border security, "Trump said Thursday.

Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), A retired Trump critic, said the wall was not realized because "we have priorities here".

"Even if he means that I campaigned on this point, it was the central pillar of the campaign. And they are not, of course, "said Flake. "So now, for him to come to Congress and say 'Pony up', Congress says no. We have never accepted that.

The administration officials privately acknowledge that there is no plan to obtain additional funds after the elections that could allow Republicans to lose congressional seats or even their majority.

"I do not know if I see an answer after the mid-term in terms of money for the wall either," said Rep. Mark Meadows (NC), chief of the Conservative House Freedom Caucus. "Here we are almost two years in an administration and significant funding has not taken place. . . . Most Conservative members are serious about this. I'm not so sure of some others.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to remind the attendees of the cheers the wall receives at the rallies but has expressed concern that his supporters are not seeing enough progress. "We have to keep saying that the wall is already happening," said the president recently, according to Trump's advisor.

The president continually tells legislators that the wall is a national security issue and asks if he can use defense money, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to speak freely.

Trump has sometimes demanded $ 25 billion for the wall, but an agreement giving him so much in exchange for protective measures against the deportation of immigrants illegally brought into the country as the children died out this year. .

[Immigration bills fail in Congress, leaving ‘dreamers’ in limbo]

The amount requested by Trump for the wall amounts to $ 5 billion for 2019, but Senate Democrats will not accompany it after reaching an agreement with Republicans to provide $ 1.6 billion in 2019, which was the initial request of the White House.

The Republicans have tried to convince Trump that the lower number is the best they can do at the moment, and that the problem will have to be solved after the elections.

But earlier this year, Trump blew up the $ 1.6 billion aid, saying it was not enough. Former Legislative Affairs Director, Marc Short, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) And others explained to him that it was what his own budget team had asked. Trump did not understand why they had not had more – and seemed not to know what was in his own request for administration, according to Trump's advisor. The President regularly criticized the request of the Office of Management and Budget.

Then, at a meeting with Congressional stakeholders in June, Trump demanded $ 5 billion, without clear justification for the number.

Trump also urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) To eliminate or change the filibuster rule giving Democrats an effective veto on Senate bills. McConnell is not in agreement.

Officials planned a trip to see prototypes to quell Trump's anger. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, and others provide periodic updates with photos.

"We did not give up the fight. But if that prevents us from doing other very important things, like defending the country, then I think it's not worth having them now, "said Tom Cole (R -Okla.), A prominent member of the House. Credit Committee. "Let's make sure that these critical functions of the government are fulfilled and that the American people will express their opinion during the elections. We'll see where we are when we come back.