Trump waiting to see border security deal before signing
February 13, 2019 |
President Trump is waiting to see the final details of a border security deal before he signs off on the legislation that would avert another government shutdown, the White House said on Wednesday.
“We want to see what the final piece of legislation looks like. It’s hard to say definitively whether or not the president is going to sign it until we know everything that’s in it,” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters outside the White House.
“Unlike Nancy Pelosi we actually like to read legislation before we agree to it. The president isn’t fully happy, as he said yesterday with everything that’s in the legislation but there are some positive pieces of it,” she said, adding, “At the end of the day the president is going to build the wall.”
CNN reported earlier Wednesday, citing two sources who talked directly with the president, that he would sign the border deal.
The agreement negotiated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate would provide $1.375 billion to fund 55 miles of new fences along the southern border – well short of the $5.7 billion Trump had demanded.
Sanders said “it’s not true” when asked if this was a worse deal than what Congress offered before the 35-day shutdown.
She said critics are just trying to “spin” what’s in the deal.
The Republican-controlled House in December passed a bill that provided $5.7 billion for the wall and funding to temporarily keep the government open.
But it failed in the Senate where Republicans needed Democrats help to get it over the 60-vote threshold needed for passage.
Unable to reach a compromise, the government shut down at midnight Dec. 22.
Citing border security as a national security matter and the situation at the border a humanitarian crisis, Sanders said the president is exploring avenues to get the full funding he sought.
“The president’s got a number of options, he’s going to keep all those on the table. We’ll make a determination of what is necessary, based on what the final piece of legislation looks like,” she said.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump signaled that he wouldn’t let the government go dark.
“I don’t think you’re going to see a shutdown. If you did have it, it’s the Democrats’ fault. I would hope there won’t be a shutdown,” he told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged Trump to sign the “pretty good deal” even though it doesn’t provide the $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall that the president wanted.
The government reopened on Jan. 25 after a 35-day partial shutdown because Congress and the White House were deadlocked on Trump’s demand for a wall.
https://nypost.com/2019/02/13/trump-to-sign-b...-719080549
February 13, 2019 |
President Trump is waiting to see the final details of a border security deal before he signs off on the legislation that would avert another government shutdown, the White House said on Wednesday.
“We want to see what the final piece of legislation looks like. It’s hard to say definitively whether or not the president is going to sign it until we know everything that’s in it,” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters outside the White House.
“Unlike Nancy Pelosi we actually like to read legislation before we agree to it. The president isn’t fully happy, as he said yesterday with everything that’s in the legislation but there are some positive pieces of it,” she said, adding, “At the end of the day the president is going to build the wall.”
CNN reported earlier Wednesday, citing two sources who talked directly with the president, that he would sign the border deal.
The agreement negotiated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate would provide $1.375 billion to fund 55 miles of new fences along the southern border – well short of the $5.7 billion Trump had demanded.
Sanders said “it’s not true” when asked if this was a worse deal than what Congress offered before the 35-day shutdown.
She said critics are just trying to “spin” what’s in the deal.
The Republican-controlled House in December passed a bill that provided $5.7 billion for the wall and funding to temporarily keep the government open.
But it failed in the Senate where Republicans needed Democrats help to get it over the 60-vote threshold needed for passage.
Unable to reach a compromise, the government shut down at midnight Dec. 22.
Citing border security as a national security matter and the situation at the border a humanitarian crisis, Sanders said the president is exploring avenues to get the full funding he sought.
“The president’s got a number of options, he’s going to keep all those on the table. We’ll make a determination of what is necessary, based on what the final piece of legislation looks like,” she said.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump signaled that he wouldn’t let the government go dark.
“I don’t think you’re going to see a shutdown. If you did have it, it’s the Democrats’ fault. I would hope there won’t be a shutdown,” he told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged Trump to sign the “pretty good deal” even though it doesn’t provide the $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall that the president wanted.
The government reopened on Jan. 25 after a 35-day partial shutdown because Congress and the White House were deadlocked on Trump’s demand for a wall.
https://nypost.com/2019/02/13/trump-to-sign-b...-719080549
