WASHINGTON—The threat of a government shutdown this weekend appeared to recede on Tuesday after President Donald Trump backed away from a demand that Congress include funding for his planned border wall with Mexico in a spending bill.
In remarks to conservative news media outlets that were confirmed by the White House, Trump said on Monday evening he may wait until Republicans begin drafting the budget blueprint for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1 to seek funds for the wall.
Trump’s fellow Republicans control both chambers of Congress but the current funding bill, which has to be passed by Friday night, will need 60 votes to clear the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 52 seats and so will have to get some Democratic support. Democratic leaders had said it would not get it if funds for the wall were included.
The news about Trump’s comments helped fuel a rise in U.S. Treasury debt yields..
Even if the fight over wall funding is over, Republicans and Democrats still have some difficult issues to resolve over the next day or two.
With his demand for the inclusion of wall funding, Trump had been running the risk of being blamed by Democrats for a partial shutdown of the government that would start on Saturday.
White House demands that taxpayers foot the bill for the border wall were particularly weakened given that Trump campaigned on a promise not just to build a wall but to make Mexico pay for it.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer welcomed the Monday night comments and noted that there were opponents of the wall among Republicans too.
“It’s really good news that the president seems to be taking the wall off the table in the negotiations we’re having on an appropriations bill this week,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Tuesday morning.
