Popular vote loser Donald Trump has apparently decided that he'll hold off on that government shutdown if he doesn't get his border wall funding this month. Or at least that's what administration officials want to believe.
Congress has only appropriated money to fund government operations through the end of September, and President Trump has threatened to shut down the government if lawmakers don't include $1.6 billion in new funding so that 74 new miles of wall and secondary fencing can be added to the border.
"Build that wall," Trump said at the Aug. 22 rally in Phoenix. "Now the obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it. But believe me, if we have to close down our government, we're building that wall."
But shortly after Trump made those comments, White House officials quietly notified Congress that the $1.6 billion would not need to be in a "continuing resolution" that was meant to fund government operations from October until sometime in early December, a senior GOP congressional aide said.
Whether Trump actually knows this and okayed it is unclear. But of course it doesn't mean he's giving up on the threat of shutting down government. He's saving it up, for next time.
White House officials have signaled to lawmakers, however, that the wall’s eventual construction remains a top priority for Trump. He wants this funding to be included in the December budget bill, GOP congressional aides said.
Because it wouldn't be a Republican Christmas without a shutdown threat.