The prospect of a second shutdown after the longest one in history is something Senate Republicans still take seriously despite rising hopes it can be avoided with a bipartisan border deal or even some sort of executive action by the president. Asked how seriously she is taking the potential for another funding debacle, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) replied: “Very.”

“I want to be able to say that: ‘no, it’s not possible that we would go back into another shutdown.’ But I didn’t think the first one that was 35 days was possible either,” she said.

Senators are already making calls to gauge what their fellow conference committee members might support ahead of their first meeting Wednesday. And Republicans writ large are touting the panel as a possible solution for the problem.

But if that committee fails, as many on the Hill privately believe is likely, Trump has touted two paths to again try to build his wall: a shutdown or a national emergency on the border.