Congress readies short-term spending fix

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are working to pass a short-term spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown Friday, postponing the fight over funding a U.S.-Mexico border wall to next year. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Tuesday the short-term measure would fund the government until early February. The resolution will likely maintain current spending levels and fund departments including Homeland Security, Justice, State, and Transportation.

On Tuesday, the White House backed away from the president’s push for $5 billion from Congress for the wall. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration doesn’t want to risk a government shutdown and is instead looking at other sources to fund the project.

President Donald Trump pushed back Wednesday against the idea that the compromise represents a concession to Democrats, tweeting that “one way or the other, we will win on the Wall!” He claimed Mexico was indirectly paying for the wall because more money is coming into the United States under the new trade agreement signed between the two nations and Canada last month.