Trump's wall reversal will cost GOP in future talks, Republicans fear

Republicans fear that President Trump has weakened their position in legislative negotiations by caving on his demand for border wall funding.

Trump on Tuesday continued to walk back his threat to withhold $7 billion for Obamacare subsidies from an omnibus spending bill and let the government shut down on Saturday if Democrats opposed a dollar-for-dollar swap in funding for a wall along the Southern border.

The legislation, to fund the government through Oct. 1, was expected to include an appropriation for border enforcement, a provision the White House was touting as a win and part of necessary planning in advance of wall construction.

But by throwing down the gauntlet and retreating on a key priority, Republican insiders and conservative activists alike worry that Trump has undercut the party's advantage and emboldened Democrats in future talks impacting all sorts of policies.

"He violated the basic rules of negotiations the same way Republicans have been preemptively surrendering on every budget bill until now," said Daniel Horowitz, senior editor of Conservative Review. "The difference is that Trump was elected precisely to change the culture of preemptive surrender and weakness in negotiating with Democrats."