Sen. Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Senate lawmakers should “stick with their agreement” to provide no more than $1.6 billion for a southern border wall in the fiscal year 2019 budget.
Schumer’s declaration sets up a possible partisan battle in Congress and a fight with President Trump, who has indirectly threatened to withhold his signature from a critical funding bill if it does not include billions of dollars more in border wall funding.
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“We believe Senate Democrats and Republicans should stick with their agreement and Trump should not interfere” in the negotiations, Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday.
Schumer said the Senate Appropriations Committee’s $1.6 billion figure the panel passed earlier this year is “tough” and will provide enough money for drones, sensors, new roads, and other means to stop illegal border crossings. A wall, Schumer said, would be ineffective.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he plans to aim for $5 billion in wall funding, which is the amount House Republican appropriators have designated for the project.
The two parties and President Trump face a Dec. 7 deadline, when current funding for a group of spending bills expires, among them Homeland Security, which oversees border security.
