This highlights just how un-serious Democrats are on border protection
Details of a likely bipartisan border-security deal in Congress are being worked out after the White House indicated it will accept an agreement giving President Trump just a fraction of the money he’s demanded for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Congressional negotiators said the money allocated to the border wall will be far below Trump’s requested figure of $5.7 billion, a demand that led to a showdown with congressional Democrats and the longest-ever federal government shutdown. The figure is likely to be somewhere around $1.6 billion.
The deal would not only partially fund the wall, it would also prevent another government shutdown next weekend. Trump threatened to go with the shutdown again, though congressional Republicans are unlikely to have the stamina for another shutdown for which they have been held responsible.
One White House aide indicated that Trump will accept whatever agreement comes out of the negotiations as he understands there isn’t enough willpower among Republicans to fight for the full border-wall funding.
On one hand, it’s a pittance of what was requested. On the other, Trump and Republicans forced Democrats to allocate some money for a border barrier, when they had been saying that the number would be zero, despite their talking points of “open the government and we’ll negotiate.” Trump is getting something. And then he can force more later. Plus, he has other options, such as invoking 10 United States Code § 284, which authorizes the U.S. military to build barriers at the southern border.
But even with a breakthrough in negotiations, Democrats are insisting that the money given to the border security shouldn’t be just for the physical barrier.
“Throughout the talks, Democrats have insisted that a border security compromise not be overly reliant on physical barriers,†Evan Hollander, a spokesman for Democrats who control the House Appropriations Committee, told the Associated Press. “We will not agree to $2 billion in funding for barriers.â€
Democrats are demanding that measures that mostly do not stop illegals be implemented, like using more drones, so we can watch them cross illegally.
