Trump will reportedly sign off on the budget even if it doesn't include border wall funding

Wall at the US-Mexico border, Sonoyta, Mexico.

(Image credit: PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images)

published 1 September 2017

President Trump reportedly won't follow through with his threats to shut down the government if the $1.6 billion he has requested to build the border wall is not included in a short-term budget deal, The Washington Post reports. Trump vowed in August that "if we have to close down our government, we're building that wall," and suggested in May that a "good shutdown" would be required to get Republicans and Democrats to fall in line with his agenda.

Lawmakers will meet in September to strike a deal to fund the government through December. The budget requires votes from Democrats in the Senate in order to pass, and many of the party's leadership has loudly spoken out against funding the wall. But Trump will want to see border wall funding included in the bill for December onwards, Republican aides told the Post.

In the spring, Trump also walked back on his insistence on border wall funding in order to pass the current budget through September.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.