US government shutdown: Trump expected to sign border wall deal to avoid closure

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Donald Trump isn't showing his hand yet. But with little Washington appetite for another shutdown, he's expected to grudgingly accept an agreement that would keep the government open but provide just a fraction of the money he's been demanding for his Mexican border wall.

Addressing the deal on Wednesday, Mr Trump said he would be taking “a very serious look” at the text when the White House receives it from Congress. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill were still haggling over final details, but they appeared on track to finish soon.

“We're going to look at the legislation when it comes and I'll make a determination,” the president said, telling reporters he'd be looking out for any “land mines.”

Still, he reiterated his aversion to another shutdown, the likely result if he rejects the agreement, saying one would be “a terrible thing.”

White House officials cautioned on Wednesday that they have yet to receive full legislative language. And Mr Trump has a history of suddenly balking at deals after signaling he would sign them. But barring any major changes, he is expected to sign the deal currently expected to go to a vote at some point before Friday.

Mr Trump and his aides have also signalled that he is preparing to use executive action to try to secure additional funding for the wall by shifting federal dollars without congressional sign-off.

Accepting the deal, worked out by congressional negotiators from both parties, would be a disappointment for a president who has repeatedly insisted he needs $5.7bn (£4.4bn) for a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border and painted the project as paramount for national security. Trump turned down a similar deal in December, forcing the 35-day partial shutdown that left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks and Republicans reeling.

Lawmakers tentatively agreed to a deal that would provide nearly $1.4bn (£1bn) for border barriers and keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on 30 September. Filling in the details has taken some time, as is typical, and aides reported Wednesday that the measure had hit some snags, though they doubted they would prove fatal.

Last-minute hang-ups include whether to include a simple extension of the Violence Against Women Act as Senate Republicans want or move a new, longer-term bill separately, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing.

Democrats are also pressing to try to make sure employees of federal contractors receive back pay for wages lost during the last shutdown. The continued haggling means that a House vote can't come before Thursday night, at the earliest.

Given the back-and-forth, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters the president was awaiting a final version before making a final call.

“We want to see the final piece of legislation, and we'll make a determination at that point,” she said Wednesday.

Reporting by AP. View The Independent’s live coverage of the looming shutdown from Wednesday below.

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