$10 billion for border wall...

House Republicans propose $10 billion for Trump’s border wall

By RACHAEL BADE

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a plan to provide $10 billion for President Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico, a bill unlikely to clear the Senate but which could fuel a shutdown fight in December.

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said his panel will vote on the legislation next week. The bill also would add 10,000 more border patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers, tap the National Guard to patrol the southern border and target people who have overstayed visas.

“Now that we have a partner in the White House who has made this a top priority, it’s time to send a bill to President Trump’s desk so we can deliver the American people the security they have long demanded and deserve,” McCaul said in a statement.

The bill represents Republicans’ opening salvo in both the looming year-end government funding fight and high-stakes negotiations over undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

It almost certainly won’t pass the Senate, where at least eight Democrats would be needed to clear a 60-vote threshold.

Still, the measure foreshadows Republican negotiating positions in the fight over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump announced earlier this month he would end absent action from Congress. Trump has said the wall need not be part of any bipartisan deal to codify the program, but House Republicans want the wall on the table.

While the bill authorizes funds for the wall, it does not actually appropriate the money. But it shows that Republicans are intent on fighting for the wall ahead of debate to keep the government from running out of money in the second week of December.

Trump has said he wants a shutdown rumble over his wall money, which Democrats have rejected. He and some conservatives feel they could win a public relations battle if that were to occur. GOP leaders disagree and believe Republicans would face an intense backlash if the government shuts down.