Democrats prep new funding deal for Trump

WASHINGTON—House Democrats are working on a new a budget proposal that could allot $5.7 billion for border security, but the money would primarily go to immigration judges, drones, and technology for improving U.S. ports of entry—not a wall on the southern border like President Donald Trump has requested. Lawmakers on Thursday described the plan as a work in progress but could unveil it as soon as Friday. “If his $5.7 billion is about border security, then we see ourselves fulfilling that request, only doing it with what I like to call using a smart wall,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who added that the plan would not include funds for a “concrete edifice.”

The Senate is set to vote Thursday on two other budget bills to reopen shuttered parts of the federal government, but neither is expected to get the 60 votes needed to move forward on a budget measure. One of the bills, supported by Trump, combines $5.7 billion for a wall at the U.S. southern border with some time-limited protections for young illegal immigrants. The other bill, a Democrat-backed measure, provides no money for the wall but funds the government through Feb. 8.

The day of votes is expected to kick-start more negotiations, but the two sides probably will not settle their differences before Friday, the day that about 800,000 federal workers will miss their second paycheck due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the president will postpone his State of the Union address until after the end of the shutdown, which has gone on for more than a month. He made the announcement Wednesday after a back-and-forth exchange with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who disinvited him from giving the address in the House chamber as scheduled on Tuesday.

The president tweeted that he would not look for alternative places to deliver the address, saying, “No venue can compete with the history, tradition, and importance of the House Chamber.”