Support for border compromise in question

WASHINGTON—With a week to go until funding could lapse again for parts of the federal government, lawmakers may be nearing a border security agreement, but there is no guarantee President Donald Trump, who continues to insist on funding for a wall along the U.S. southern border, will sign off on it. “We’re on the verge of a government shutdown again,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley warned reporters Friday. “Because Democrats won’t come to the table and have a conversation about securing the country.” A bipartisan committee of 17 lawmakers have until next Friday to come up with a compromise that is satisfactory to Democrats and the White House. Congress hopes to pass a budget that will last until the end of the fiscal year and avoid another short-term continuing resolution.

Top GOP negotiator Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama briefed the president on the negotiations Thursday and told reporters his visit with Trump was “the most positive meeting I’ve had in a long time.” The president, who previously called the negotiations a “waste of time,” acknowledged that “both sides are moving along.” Shelby, who also met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., added, “This is the crucial time right now, between now and Monday.”

Democratic negotiator Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard of California said this week it would be “unrealistic” to expect a deal that didn’t include funding for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, seeming to signal she could support a physical wall.

If Trump does not show support for the compromise once it is revealed, it is unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will bring it to a vote, or whether it will garner the 60 votes necessary to pass in the Senate.