Shutdown fight over border wall nears

Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Majority Whip Steve Scalise and new GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney — in her first Oval Office meeting since being elected to the Republican leadership — will huddle with President Donald Trump to strategize about how to get through the lame-duck session.

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There’s still no clear way out of a bipartisan jam: Republicans promised Trump that they would fight for his wall money after the election. And Democrats say they already have a deal on $1.6 billion in border security, far less than the $5 billion preferred by the president and his allies in Congress.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama said Trump personally made clear to him before Thanksgiving that anything less than $5 billion would be unacceptable. But Shelby said Trump’s willingness to deal will depend on exactly how Congress would dole out the money — with the goal of an extended lifespan for the project which will cost more than $25 billion.

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