President Trump declined to back away from his threat of a government shutdown next month when asked Monday if Hurricane Harvey has changed his immediate priorities.
Days after the president said he would go to the mat to ensure Congress allocates money for his promised border wall during spending negotiations next month, Trump refused to renege on that promise during a press conference with his Finnish counterpart.
Trump told reporters that the government’s response to catastrophic flooding and widespread damage in Texas and Louisiana “has nothing to do” with his threat to temporarily shutter government agencies.
“This is separate,” he said Monday, adding that legislation budgeting for relief is “going to go very quickly.”
“You’re going to see very rapid action from Congress, certainly from your president,” he said. “We expect to have requests on our desk very soon and we think Congress will feel very much like I feel.”
Trump is slated to visit Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday to assess the damage from Harvey, and has hinted at returning to the Lone Star State later this week to offer further assistance.
