Trump will likely agree to $1.3 billion in border funding. He rejected $1.6 billion last year.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 13 February 2019

President Trump looks set to sign a budget deal that doesn't come close to including the amount of border wall funding he's asked for — or even as much as he's rejected in the past.

Trump intends to sign a new budget agreement from Congress that will avert a government shutdown, CNN reported Wednesday. He had expressed dissatisfaction with the bill, and understandably so; he'd been for weeks asking for $5.7 billion in border wall funding, and this bill only includes $1.375 billion for 55 miles of fencing.

But The Washington Post points out that Trump could have had much more if he had just quit while he was ahead. After all, a spending bill produced by the Senate in June 2018 included $1.6 billion for 65 miles of fencing. Trump rejected this amount, wanting $5 billion instead. Now, not only is he ending this whole standoff without $5 billion, he'll receive even less than the original $1.6 billion he was offered, after his insistence on the funding sparked the longest-ever partial government shutdown.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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