Congress returns to grapple with border security, amid threat of partial government shutdown

THEY’RE BACK! The House and Senate are back in session after a break for the November elections, which have emboldened Democrats to confront President Trump on some of his top priorities — including the billions he wants for his border wall. In a rare and somewhat surprising move, Congress wrapped up all of its defense policy and appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, funding 75 percent of the government, including the Pentagon. But money for some other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, runs out Dec. 7. That raises the prospect of a showdown and possible government shutdown, if Republicans try to push through funding for the border wall, before ceding power in the House to the Democrats in January.

TRUMP FRUSTRATED: In his post-election news conference last week Trump didn’t rule out a shutdown to secure funding for the wall. “We need the money to build wall — the whole wall, not pieces of it all over.” But he also said he “would like to see bipartisanship.”