Thread: Tough choice for Trump if Congress refuses border wall financing

Tough choice for Trump if Congress refuses border wall financing

August 28, 2017 / 9:50 PM / 3 hours ago
Amanda Becker and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is unlikely to win congressional support for funds he wants for a proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall before an Oct. 1 deadline, meaning he may have to choose between backing down on a key campaign promise or shutting down the government.

The second option was a politically dangerous one before Hurricane Harvey tore through southern Texas over the weekend and it now looks even riskier.

At a campaign-style rally in Phoenix last week, Trump doubled down on his earlier demands that Congress fund a Mexican border wall in government spending legislation, adding a clear threat. “If we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall,” he told supporters.

Since then, lawmakers who were already struggling to hammer out a stop-gap federal spending bill before Oct. 1 to avoid a shutdown have had to factor in Trump’s threat as well.

During his election campaign, Trump insisted Mexico would pay for the construction of the wall, which experts said could cost about $22 billion and take more than three years to complete.

With Mexico refusing to pay, Trump has said since taking office in January that the wall will initially need U.S. funding but that he will find a way to make Mexico ultimately pay for it.

A government shutdown would result if Congress is unable to agree on a spending deal or if Trump does not like the package and vetoes it. A veto would put Trump in a dangerous position of rejecting a bill approved by his own party.

“Shutting down the government would be a self-destructive act, not to mention an act of political malpractice,” Republican Representative Charlie Dent said in an interview.

Republicans firmly control the House of Representatives, but have only a narrow majority in the Senate, where at least eight Democratic votes will be needed to pass a spending bill.

Democratic leaders firmly oppose the border wall and appear to be in no mood to do Trump a favor by including funding now.

”Democrats aren’t feeling the heat over this,” Democratic strategist Jim Manley said, adding that “no Democrat is going to be cowed” by Trump’s threat to shut down the government.

Without Democratic support, current and former congressional aides from both parties said they expected Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has been sharply criticized by Trump in recent weeks, to opt for a spending bill without wall funding to get legislation to the president’s desk.

Dent said he expected the Senate would “strip out” $1.6 billion that had been set aside to start building the wall in a spending measure already passed by the House, and send it back to that chamber for another vote.

Dent voted for the wall funding the first time but said he would approve the spending measure without the wall money if that is what it takes to keep the government open.

Asked what Congress would do if Trump vetoes a spending bill, Dent said: ”We’ll have to determine what our next steps will be, but I’m hopeful he’ll sign the bill.”

SHORT-TERM FIX

A stop-gap spending bill would keep the government open for several months with no major changes to spending programs while lawmakers work out a longer-term deal. The U.S. Congress has relied heavily on those short-term fixes - known as continuing resolutions - for many years.

Federal assistance for those affected by devastating floods triggered by Harvey could be attached to a new continuing resolution.

But Trump said on Monday the hurricane recovery effort had not caused him to reconsider the option of a government shutdown.

“I think it has nothing to do with it, really. I think this is separate,” he said at a news conference.

He said he hoped a government shutdown would not be needed but declined to rule it out. "If it’s necessary, we’ll have to see.”

If Trump signs a short-term extension without wall funding, it could delay the battle until December, when that legislation would likely expire.

Trump also said on Monday that the border wall was "imperative" in order to tackle drug trafficking and crime as well as illegal immigration.

The budget debate is also complicated by the need to finance support for victims of Harvey, the worst storm to hit Texas in more than 50 years, and find a deal on increasing the federal debt ceiling, which limits how much money the U.S. government can borrow.

One possible escape route for Trump could be separate legislation for funding the wall. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, has introduced legislation that would authorize $15 billion over four years for border security. That would still need the support of at least eight Senate Democrats.

Additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1B906N

I have a suggestion.

Americans want an end to illegal immigration and massive reductions in legal immigration.

You don't need Congress or a Wall to end illegal immigration.

You need to end DACA and other off the law types of amnesties and deferred status as soon as possible, with a simple Executive Order that forbids DHS issuing any deferred status or work permit to any illegal alien of any age or circumstance in the United States for any reason which ends the "shadow' immigration that occurs by the millions without any authority by Congress or even the President, including DACA.

You need to issue an Executive Order that forbids the issuance of any federal number or document including social security numbers and passport documents to any person born in the US to illegal aliens. The absurdity of anchor baby policy is beyond the pale. There is no law or provision of the US Constitution that allows making citizens out of children of people banned from presence in the United States. This absurd policy is a clerical administrative bureaucratic snafu that needs to end now. This order would only apply to future births, not past tense, although it should apply to all but priors are probably protected by ex post facto in the Constitution. This needs to be done as soon as possible.

Issue an Executive Order that prohibits any remittance of any kind to any foreign country by any illegal alien in the United States. It's money laundering in every sense of the word, it's illegal drug money, illegal smuggling money, illegal work money, illegal business money, it's illegal money being transferred out of our country, draining us dry as a bone. End it now. There will be no harassment of citizens and legal immigrants, just a very simple order that prohibits remittances of US money to foreign countries by illegal aliens.

Issue an Executive Order that prohibits the acceptance of funds of any kind by any federal agency or any other agency supported in any way with federal tax dollars of any kind from illegal aliens, whether it be for a driver's licenses by states, tuition at public universities, community colleges or private schools that receive any type of federal grant or payments, passport photos by the USPS, property taxes, utility payments, rent in public housing, tax exempt hospitals and medical facilities, etc., etc., etc. This is all money laundering in its truest sense to violate US immigration law with aiding and abetting by taking the illegal money to further skirt our laws.

Issue an Executive Order that protects all state and local law enforcement agencies who choose to enforce US immigration law in their states, counties and cities from federal prosecution by DOJ. This will protect our 800,000 state and local law enforcement officers who want to enforce our immigration laws from fear of Witch Hunt prosecutions like what happened to Sheriff Joe.

Do these few simple things that don't require acts of Congress to enforce existing law and frankly, we won't need much of a wall.

To reduce legal immigration, it's very simple:

When Congress sends their annual green card and visa bills to you, slice and dice with a simple veto. If it's part of another bill, veto the whole damn bill until they send you a bill that eliminates chain migration, visa lottery and reduces visa and green card numbers by 50% effective immediately.

Yes, we need and want that darn wall! Get 'er built by whatever means necessary, Mr. President!

Absolutely, Judy.

That really is the simplicity of it. Congresscritters and other miscreants keep telling us, 'It's a complex problem." What they are saying is they don't want to do anything and besides we, the people, are just too stupid to comprehend.

The fact is it is fundamentally simple.

Originally Posted by nntrixie

Absolutely, Judy.

That really is the simplicity of it. Congresscritters and other miscreants keep telling us, 'It's a complex problem." What they are saying is they don't want to do anything and besides we, the people, are just too stupid to comprehend.

The fact is it is fundamentally simple.

Yes, it's very simple. The Founders set up our country in a very smart and simple manner, it's why our Constitution is so small compared to modern ones. If Congress flubs it up, the President vetoes and does other things within his powers. Trump can constitutionally do everything I suggested, so he should just do those few things and declare victory for this year. He has 3 more years at least, hopefully, 7. He can get a lot done and I think he will do just that, leaving the "all talk, no action" Do-Nothing Congress grasping at straws for re-election with nothing to their credit and no results or problems solved by them. It will be ALL TRUMP.

Our troops built the Alaska Highway in less than 10 months due to fear of Japanese invasion.

We ARE being invaded...get our troops on the border and build that WALL

Originally Posted by Beezer

Our troops built the Alaska Highway in less than 10 months due to fear of Japanese invasion.

We ARE being invaded...get our troops on the border and build that WALL

Oh yes, this is an invasion, no doubt about it. Just listen to them, they will "fight" they claim and brag. I expect and demand our government protect US from these invaders, I don't give a flying fvck how old they were when they were brought here, or who brought them here or how long they've been here or what they've done since they've been here, that is all 100% irrelevant, they weren't supposed to be here, they still aren't supposed to be here, so it's the job of our government to deport them. That is our law, it's just and necessary law, now enforce that law and get their loud mouth butts out of our country. PERIOD.

Hey, I hadn't thought of this, but we do still a part of the military that 'builds' things.

Why not put them to building the wall - the military has a HUGE budget, use it.

Our border is our first line of defense and the only border in the world we should be protecting.

This is an invasion, pure and simple.

Originally Posted by nntrixie

Hey, I hadn't thought of this, but we do still a part of the military that 'builds' things.

Why not put them to building the wall - the military has a HUGE budget, use it.

Our border is our first line of defense and the only border in the world we should be protecting.

This is an invasion, pure and simple.

Army Corps of Engineers can build the wall.