White House pressures lawmakers on border wall
WASHINGTON — President Trump and his top aides applied new pressure Sunday on lawmakers to include money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border in a must-pass government funding bill, raising the possibility of a federal government shutdown this week.
[...] top administration officials appeared on Sunday news shows to press for money for the wall, including White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, who said Trump might refuse to sign a spending bill that does not include money for the wall.
Democrats said they vigorously oppose any money for the border wall in a new spending bill, setting the stage for a last-minute showdown as the White House and lawmakers scramble to pass a stopgap bill before funding expires at midnight Friday.
Trump’s position could also put him at odds with Republican congressional leaders, some of whom have voiced skepticism about including wall funding in the most immediate spending bill.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., made clear to rank-and-file GOP lawmakers on Saturday that his top priority was to pass a bill to keep government open.
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus appeared to take a slightly less rigid approach to getting money for the border wall, repeatedly talking more generally about the need for “border security.”