BORDER/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump’s demand for border wall funds hurled the federal government closer to a shutdown as House Republicans approved a package Thursday [12-20-18] with his $5.7 billion request that is almost certain to be rejected by the Senate. The White House said Trump will not travel to Florida on Friday [12-21-18] for the Christmas holiday if the government is shutting down. More than 800,000 federal workers will be facing furloughs or forced to work without pay if a resolution is not reached before funding expires at midnight Friday. The shutdown crisis could be one of the final acts of the House GOP majority before relinquishing control to Democrats in January. Congress had been on track to fund the government but lurched Thursday when Trump, after a rare lashing from conservative supporters, declared he would not sign a bill without the funding. Conservatives want to keep fighting. They warn that ‘caving’ on Trump’s repeated wall promises could hurt his 2020 re-election chances, and other Republicans’ as well.”
–Associated Press, “Trump’s Demand for Wall Moves Government Closer to Shutdown,” The New York Times online, December 19, 2018