BORDER/GOVERNMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “There is a growing optimism in the White House that a budget agreement to avoid another partial government shutdown can be reached, a senior White House official said Thursday [2-7-19]. The shift from earlier in the week, when some White House officials expressed concern about the prospects of a deal, comes as key lawmakers finally begin to discuss how the budget deal will look…However, the official acknowledged that there are sticking points that could still prevent a breakthrough, but noted negotiators are at last making progress. The hope at the White House now is that the deal will be reached by Sunday [2-10-19]; originally, the hope was that talks could be wrapped up by Friday [2-8-19] or Saturday [2-9-19] at the latest. The official added that, while the White House is prepared for President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency over border wall funding, there’s growing confidence it won’t come to that. What the President will sign is still an open question, but the official said it’s possible Trump would be willing to sign a bill that provides less than $5.7 billion for fencing or a wall. At this point, aides acknowledge they may not even get half that number in a final deal.”
–Pamela Brown, Sarah Westwood and Caroline Kelly, “White House says ‘we’re in a good place’ on budget negotiations,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, February 7, 2019 8:43 pm