BORDER/BUDGET/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES/WALL: “President Donald Trump on Monday [2-5-18] again insisted on funding for his promised border wall, making clear the high hurdle faced by a bipartisan pair of senators who are backing an immigration plan that leaves out wall funding and other Trump demands.
The senators are hoping that their legislation, being introduced Monday, will help end the impasse that has hindered a two-year budget deal. The bill, by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), doesn’t approve immediate funding for Mr. Trump’s demand, reiterated on Monday, that any immigration deal include funding for a wall along the border with Mexico. Congress is gearing up this week to pass another short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown four days before the government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.
Lawmakers are increasingly frustrated by the gridlock that has prevented them from striking a long-term deal on either immigration or spending levels. Immigration has become entangled in the spending negotiations ever since Mr. Trump last year ended an Obama-era program that protects young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, known as Dreamers… But the bill stops well short of almost all of Mr. Trump’s demands—including nis signature promise of immediate funding for the wall along the southern border—and is likely to meet a chilly reception from conservative Republicans.”
-Kristina Peterson and Laura Meckler, “Trump Insists Again on a Wall, as Immigration, Spending Deadlines Loom,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 5, 2018 12:03pm