Senate Republicans are warning President Trump against his demand to include funding for his immigration priorities in a must-pass spending bill in September as the president reiterated Monday that he is willing to shut down the government.
The president said during a press conference with the Italian prime minister that he has no “red line” in negotiations, including the $25 billion for wall funding, but said he would have “no problem” with a shutdown if he is unhappy with what Congress sends him. Republicans said Monday that they still remain optimistic that the government will not shut down at the end of September, but acknowledge that Trump’s decision to weigh in has thrown a wrench into talks.
[Related: Trump commends Italian prime minister for being ‘firm’ on immigration]
“I was a little bit surprised when he brought it back up again, but I know it’s really a burr under his saddle,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “The president negotiates in his own unique fashion and I assume that that’s part of what’s going on here, but there’s no interest in shutting down the government.”
At the moment, Republicans are weighing whether to increase the funding for border security in the spending package from the $1.6 billion the White House requested to $5 billion, the amount the House approved last week. While some support the increase, others are wary and believe that could chase off Democratic support. Any bill will need 10 Democrats to pass in the Senate.
“Obviously up here, we want to keep the government up and functioning,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. “I’m not sure, again, where the president is coming from. We understand he wants wall funding, and we all get that, but I don’t think there’s any appetite up here for anything particularly at the end of the fiscal year that would create problems for government funding.”
Trump’s remarks in recent days come after his meeting with top Republicans, many of whom believed he was on the same page as them. They expected the immigration fight to take place after the midterms and not ahead of the end of the fiscal year.
“The president is willing to be patient,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said on Thursday after the meeting.
The president has called for $25 billion in wall funding to be included, along with the elimination of the visa lottery and chain migration by limiting family reunification. All of that would be in exchange of the legalization of up to 1.8 million Dreamers eligible for but not necessarily enrolled in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Trump’s remarks weren’t a total surprise to some Republicans who have seen this movie play out before. Only four months ago, Trump weighed possibly vetoing the $1.3 omnibus spending bill in late March, only to sign it.
“I didn’t faint dead away or anything,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “I know the president feels strongly about an immigration bill and he feels strongly about the law.”
The question remains whether the president’s sudden involvement in negotiations could harm the end product and lead to a shutdown. Republicans, including those involved heavily, are not completely sure what will happens
“Well — we’ll have to see,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The president is making a statement, and he’s made that before and he’s very interested and committed to building that wall. Right now, I am interested in us funding the government in its totality if there’s any way possible.”
