Trump threatens government shutdown over border issues

President Donald Trump said Sunday he is willing to shut down the federal government if Democrats in Congress won’t cooperate on legislation to secure the U.S. southern border with Mexico, including building a wall.

“I would be willing to ‘shut down’ government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall!” the president tweeted. “Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!”

Trump returned to the idea of forcing a partial government shutdown after a meeting last week with GOP leaders to discuss the fall legislative agenda. But Republicans on Capitol Hill were quick to downplay the idea. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday, said Congress should avoid a shutdown just before the midterm elections, adding, “I certainly don’t like playing shutdown politics.”

The president could trigger a partial shutdown by vetoing an upcoming spending bill. Current funding expires at the end of September. Estimates put the cost of the proposed wall in the tens of billions of dollars.