WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump intends to sign the border security deal to avoid another partial government shutdown, according to two sources who have spoke directly with the President.
He said Tuesday that he was “not happy” with the tentative deal reached by congressional negotiators late Monday night that falls far short of his original demands.
At the time Trump said he would need more time to study the plan, but he also declared he was not expecting another shutdown this weekend when funding for parts of the government would run out. He strongly signaled he planned to scrounge up additional dollars for the wall by raiding other federal coffers.
“I can’t say I’m happy. I can’t say I’m thrilled,” Trump said of the proposed deal. “But the wall is getting built, regardless. It doesn’t matter because we’re doing other things beyond what we’re talking about here.”
Trump sounded more conciliatory in a Tuesday night tweet, thanking “all Republicans for the work you have done in dealing with the Radical Left on Border Security.”
Lawmakers tentatively agreed Monday night to a deal that would provide nearly $1.4 billion for border barriers and keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.
The agreement would allow 55 miles (88 kilometers) of new fencing — constructed using existing designs such as metal slats— but far less than the 215 miles (345 kilometers) the White House demanded in December. The fencing would be built in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.
Full details were not expected to be released until Wednesday as lawmakers worked to translate their verbal agreement into legislation. But Republican leaders urged Trump to sign on.
“I hope he signs the bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who joined other GOP leaders in selling it as a necessary compromise that represented a major concession from Democrats.
Congress faces a deadline to get a deal passed and signed by the President before Friday.