Trump Will Not Sign Stopgap Funding Measure As Government Shutdown Looms

The threat of a partial government shutdown is rising after House Speaker Paul Ryan said that President Donald Trump might not sign a stopgap funding measure unless it contains billions of dollars to pay for a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday (December 19) that would keep the government funded through February 8th. Trump appeared to support the bill and it was expected to pass the House before the midnight deadline on Friday night to keep the government opened.  

However, during a closed-door meeting between House Republicans, many conservative lawmakers balked at the Senate bill and demanded funding for the border wall be added to the legislation. According to Politico, Ryan left the meeting to speak with President Trump after he was pressed by members of his caucus whether the president would sign the bill without billions of dollars in funding for the wall.

After the meeting, Ryan confirmed to reporters that Trump is planning to take a hardline stance on the funding bill.

"We just had a very long, productive meeting with the president," Ryan said. "The president informed us that he will not sign the bill that came up from the Senate last evening because of his legitimate concerns for border security."

President Trump shared his dismay over the lack of border wall funding on Twitter.

When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!

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