President Trump is finding out that dealing with the GOP led Congress is a problem
President Donald Trump is finding out the hard way that Congress even when your party controls the House are not always your friend. Less than a week after Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) failed to get President Trump a win on repealing and replacing of Obamacare there is another problem with another signature bit of legislation in trouble.
It seems that with a possible government shutdown looming that Ryan does not have the votes in the House to fund the building of the wall (at least anytime soon) on the Mexican border. The most single high profile bit of legislation Trump hammered on during his run to become president. This does not mean the wall won’t be built it does put the timeline in limbo.
President Trump wanted for his signature project to start soon in hopes of jump-starting construction of a massive wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to address two of the county’s biggest needs. They would be jobs and security, but without the funding, the wall project could be stopped before it ever gets started.
Again, Speaker Ryan is having trouble getting the 216 Republican votes for wall funding with money in a must-pass government funding bill. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders are vowing to block any legislation that includes a single penny for the wall.
So, it is possible that President Trump could lose two of his cornerstone agenda items reforming healthcare and failing to build the wall on the U.S. Mexico border because his own party can’t seem to deliver him the votes for passage.
There is a very important deadline of April 28th which is the day the government funding budget must be completed. The GOP members in the House do not have enough votes to get wall funding in this budget and there is a possibility that the House Republicans could force a government shutdown over funding issues on other projects that could trigger another setback for the young White House.
While no decision has been made by GOP leadership, Republican lawmakers may decide to decouple the two to avoid a confrontation with Democrats. If they do, the chances of getting Trump’s wall funding passed this spring become slim.
The wall could still be built but not anytime soon.
As many may recall the White House made an initial request earlier this month for $1.4 billion in border wall funding as part of a package that boosts defense spending by $30 billion, with the thought that it would be part of the broader government funding bill due April 28th but many Republicans expect the final price tag for the wall could be more than $20 billion.
As of now in a rare showing of bi-partisanship Republicans and Democrats are working diligently together on a measure to fund the government through September that can appeal to the center of each party, according to POLITICO and The Hill.
So, House Republican’s feel that putting the funding of the wall into the budget would cause the whole April 28th budget plan to plunge into chaos where they could lose both the wall funding and shutdown the government all within President Trump just around the end of his first 100 days.
It is possible that President Trump will insist that Speaker Ryan add his wall funding to the government funding bill. But again Ryan does not have the votes now in his own caucus to pass the wall addition. Ryan is in the same position as with the healthcare bill could lose only 22 Republicans to get to the 216 passage number.
Let’s say the House manages to pass a spending measure that includes funding for the wall, Republicans will need at least eight Senate Democrats to break a filibuster to fund the government, something Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) says isn’t happening if border wall money is included.
Stay tuned…
