Congress races to avert shutdown after Trump retreats on border wall

Members of Congress resigned themselves Tuesday to another short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and get the government through the holidays and into the new year after Democrats rejected a new Republican offer to give President Trump half the border wall money he’s seeking.

After months of red lines, Mr. Trump backed off his demand for $5 billion from Congress, with the White House saying it will scrounge for the money elsewhere. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said they have ordered all departments and agencies to see if they can free up any cash to legally redirect to the border.

With that retreat, GOP senators went to Democrats and suggested a deal for $1.6 billion in border wall money as part of a full Homeland Security spending bill — similar to a bipartisan bill that already cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee — but Democrats shot that down.

“Let me be clear. The Republican offer today would not pass either chamber,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.

Lawmakers are racing against a Friday deadline to pass the final 25 percent of government funding for fiscal 2019. Without action, some departments and agencies would shut down, sending hundreds of thousands of workers into forced furlough and leaving others working without pay.