New negotiations on border wall begin

WASHINGTON—With the government temporarily reopened Monday, Congress and the president have until Feb. 15 to strike a deal on border security before causing another partial shutdown. President Donald Trump signed a bill Friday to reopen the government for three weeks while a 17-member committee of bipartisan House and Senate lawmakers works on a budget. About 800,000 government workers affected by the 35-day shutdown, the longest ever, will receive back pay by the end of the week, the White House said.

President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday he was skeptical a deal would emerge: “I personally think it’s less than 50-50.” The president said he would not accept less than $5.7 billion in funding for a wall on the U.S. southern border, adding, “I have to do it right.” Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich, said his party was open to “effective border security, which would include fencing and barriers where appropriate.” But Democrats want to focus more attention on securing U.S. ports of entry. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he believes the negotiation effort “unlocks the opportunity to do other things on immigration that we need to do, like figure out something reasonable with the people that are not criminals that have been here for a long time.”

Trump could still use executive power to fulfill his signature campaign promise. “Does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL?” the president tweeted Sunday.