It's all chaos on Capitol Hill right now. The White House staff has put a lot of energy into convincing Individual 1 that he could spend taxpayer dollars however he feels like it, but either he's wised up, or his obsession with a Wall (or Steel Slats) is overriding the already frazzled circuitry of his brain.
According to White House whisperer Maggie Haberman's source, he's in a "tailspin" this morning about not having his shutdown, as his tweeting attests. And everything seems to be on hold in the House while they wait for a Trump tweet to tell them what to do. Seriously. "That's what the fuck serving in Congress has come to," one Republican representative told NBC's Kasie Hunt.
Because of 24 Republican maniacs—five of whom are not returning to Congress next year—who are adept at pulling Trump's strings, but not capable of mustering 218 votes to pass his $5 billion Wall/Slats demand. Nonetheless, they get a White House meeting.
What seems likeliest at this point is that leadership gives into the maniacs and Trump. They put the $5 billion on the floor and it's defeated, just to prove to the maniacs and Trump that it's not going to happen. It doesn't have the votes. Not in the House. Not in the Senate. Will that make Trump more likely to sign the CR? Who knows? It could make him even more pissed off and obstinate.
It's amazing watching the GOP just drag out their own and Trump's humiliation.