By Kristina Peterson and Rebecca Ballhaus
WASHINGTON -- The White House signaled on Tuesday it wanted to
avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend, even if Congress
doesn't meet President Trump's full demands on border security, a
shift in tone that raised hopes of at least a short-term spending
deal to keep government running.
Mr. Trump hasn't indicated if he would sign a short-term patch,
which would continue funding for border security, but not for a
wall. Last week, he said publicly he would be "proud" to shut down
the government if lawmakers don't include $5 billion in funding for
a Mexico border wall in their spending package.
But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday
that Mr. Trump didn't want a shutdown, and the administration could
find "other ways" to obtain the wall funding amid continued
Democratic opposition.
In an interview with Fox News, she indicated Mr. Trump could
support a bipartisan Senate bill funding the Homeland Security
Department, which oversees the border, if other funding were
diverted to the wall. That bill includes $1.6 billion for border
security, including fencing and new technology, but wouldn't permit
the construction of a concrete wall.
Asked about the possibility of a government shutdown Tuesday
afternoon, Mr. Trump told reporters: "We'll see what happens." He
also declined to answer a question about whether he would insist a
spending bill include funding for a wall, saying only: "We need
border security."
The White House's softer tone comes as Mr. Trump faces
diminished leverage to wrest money for border security from a
Congress whose chambers will be evenly divided between the
Republican and Democratic parties starting in January.
Mr. Trump has made building the wall a central rallying cry of
this presidency, and in recent weeks, his campaign has sent
fundraising pleas highlighting his fight with Democrats over wall
funding.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said he was
convinced there wouldn't be a shutdown.
Late Tuesday morning, Mr. McConnell, after consulting with the
White House, made a new offer to Senate Democrats that included the
$1.6 billion for border security, plus a roughly $1 billion fund
for Mr. Trump to use for his immigration agenda.
Senate Minority Lead Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), after calling
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), said he rejected
the offer due to concerns over the "slush fund" for Mr. Trump's
immigration proposals.
"I think that the White House has backed off the wall and that
terminology, but what they might want to do with that billion
dollars is problematic," Mrs. Pelosi said.
Mr. McConnell said he was "now in consultations with the White
House about the way forward," including what Mr. Trump would be
willing to sign.
Democrats said the administration's latest stance signaled Mr.
Trump's desire to avoid a partial shutdown when seven spending
bills expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, and a recognition that
Democrats won't agree to wall funding.
"They're looking for a solution and an exit," Sen. Dick Durbin
(D., Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said of the White House
Tuesday.
Senate leaders didn't indicate that negotiations over the
package of new fiscal 2019 spending bills had ended, leaving open
the possibility they could be reignited. But with no new deal from
the fresh round of negotiations Tuesday, many Senate Republicans
predicted Congress would end up passing a short-term extension of
current funding into early 2019, when Democrats take back control
of the House.
"If we want to keep government open, it probably looks like some
kind of continuing resolution that gets us through the early part
of next year," said Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), a member of the
Senate Appropriations Committee. "I think a number of people have
expressed that, at this point, it might be the only route
forward."
Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), chairman of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, said a stopgap fix was more likely
Tuesday after Democrats rejected the latest GOP offer.
"Continuing resolutions...they're looming in the background,
maybe over our shoulder, but we're not quite there yet," Mr. Shelby
(R., Ala.) said. "There's still hope, maybe not as much as it was a
couple of hours ago, but maybe a little bit."
Senate Democrats didn't rule out the possibility of a short-term
extension, which often becomes more appealing to lawmakers as
spending deadlines approach and they become eager to return home
for holidays.
"We'd certainly very seriously look at it," Mr. Schumer
said.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans emphasized how a new spending
deadline in early 2019 might interfere with the plans of House
Democrats and Mrs. Pelosi, who is expected to be elected speaker on
Jan. 3. "If I were in her shoes, I would rather not be dealing with
this year's business next year," Mr. McConnell said.
Mrs. Pelosi has said the House next year would quickly pass the
six less controversial fiscal 2019 spending bills and extend
current funding for Homeland Security, sending it back to the
Senate.
Democrats rejected the idea that the White House could shift
money around from the defense budget or elsewhere to fund the wall.
"They need congressional approval. They're not getting it for the
wall," Mr. Schumer said.
--Joshua Jamerson contributed to this article.
Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com and
Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 18, 2018 19:09 ET (00:09 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.