Shutdown talks are stalled over the border wall — again

U.S. border fencing in Texas
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Congressional negotiators worked over the weekend in hopes of finalizing a spending deal for a Monday vote to avert another partial government shutdown, but Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) said on Fox News Sunday talks have stalled over border security issues.

"We've got some problems with the Democrats dealing with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]," Shelby said. "I'm not confident we're going to get there. I'm hoping we will get there."

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney expressed a similar expectation on NBC's Meet the Press, highlighting President Trump's demand of $5.7 billion for border wall construction as a key sticking point. Democratic negotiators on Friday suggested they might agree to $1.6 to $2 billion for "physical barriers" on the southern border but remained adamant Trump would not get his full request.

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"Let's say the hardcore left wing of the Democrat[ic] Party prevails in this negotiation, and they put a bill on the president's desk with, say, zero money for the wall, or $800 million, an absurdly low number," Mulvaney said. "How does he sign that?"

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), also on Fox News Sunday, struck a slightly more positive note. "We are not to a point where we can announce a deal; negotiations are still going on," he told host Chris Wallace. "There are good people on this committee, so I have confidence that hopefully we will get something done very soon."

The deadline to avoid a fresh round of shutdown is Friday, Feb. 15.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.