Congress' border deal is reportedly 'unraveling'

Is Congress' shutdown-averting deal in trouble?

Politico reported Wednesday that the bipartisan agreement has started "unraveling a bit." According to the report, "it seems as if the deal was announced a bit too early," because while the two parties had agreed on the broad strokes, when it actually started to be written, "there were both critical issues and ancillary issues that were not yet solved."

The agreement initially included $1.3 billion for border security, but Politico writes that there are some disagreements about the bill's language, with Republicans fearing Democrats will "try to tie the president's hands on who needs to give approval" for the border wall. There's also some disagreement about including language to give federal contractors who were affected by the shutdown back pay, as well as about extending the Violence Against Women Act.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

While Politico notes that "these deals oftentimes fall apart a few times before they come back together," and it's not clear exactly how dire the situation is right now, the news is certainly a concern: A vote was expected to take place in the House of Representatives later today. If no bill is passed by Friday, Feb. 15, the government will shut down again.