HILLSBORO, Ore.— House Speaker Paul Ryan suggested that a short-term government spending bill would be needed to prevent a government shutdown, but that financing a border wall need not lead to a funding lapse.
“We’re going to need more time to complete our appropriations process, particularly in the Senate,” the Wisconsin Republican said, indicating the need for a continuing resolution.
But we “don’t have to choose” between keeping the government and funding the wall sought by President Trump, Ryan said while touring a tour of tech giant Intel’s facilities in Oregon Wednesday.
The president at a rally in Arizona Tuesday night raised the prospect of shutting the government down if Congress doesn’t fund the border wall.
“I don’t think most people want to see a shutdown, myself included,” Ryan said. The House has passed legislation funding a physical barrier along the Mexican border, but the Senate might need more time to pass legislation, he said.
“We do agree that we need to have the physical barrier on the border,” Ryan later added, referring to the president and himself. “We do need to have border control, we need to enforce our borders, we completely agree on that.”
