While President Trump’s deal-making has not had the success he would like, the spending bill is one deal coming up that is a “must-win” for all concerned. But according to Bloomberg, Republicans and Democrats mostly want Trump to get out of the way so they can do their work.
This is because Senate Appropriators in both parties already are planning to set aside funding for the “Great Wall” and outright dismiss his proposal to cut funds to domestic agencies by $18 billion.
Republican Senator Roy Blunt, a member of his party’s leadership, told reporters on Tuesday the funding for the wall would likely not be in the FY2017 budget. His remarks came after Trump, on the same day, had requested a supplemental funding bill to include money for the wall along with military programs, according to the BBC.
Suggesting that Trump’s request would complicate the proceedings, Blunt said, “All of the committees, House and Senate leaderships, are working together to try to finalize the rest of the FY17 bill.” He added that the supplemental funding for the wall and military programs could be dealt with at a later date.
Both parties have been working hard to reach an agreement on a spending bill that would be acceptable to both sides, even with Democrats threatening to stop the spending bill in its tracks if Trump’s wall and defunding Planned Parenthood are included in the legislation.
As the New York Post explains, Trump’s “Great Wall” initiative has also met resistance from some GOP members in Congress. Trump has said all along that Mexico will pay for the wall, but that’s not going to happen.
However, Trump’s original estimate of the construction costs has ballooned from $12 billion to over $21.1 billion, and that is something that has given many GOP lawmakers reason to be concerned.
Additionally, the federal government would have to purchase a number of parcels of land along the border, creating an additional increase in the final cost of the wall. And the setback over the wall comes just as the US Department of Homeland Security has pushed back its deadline for proposals to construct the edifice, changing the deadline to April 4.
