How Trump’s Wall Could Shut Down the Government
Why Trump's Shutdown Threat Should Be Taken Seriously
At a raucous political rally in Phoenix on Aug. 22, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to shut down the federal government if Congress refuses to send him a spending bill that funds the U.S.-Mexico border wall on which he staked his presidential campaign. Trump, a Republican, laid the blame on Democrats for the lack of construction money. Democrats responded, in essence, "make our day." With funding for the government running out Sept. 30, the U.S. facing a separate deadline to raise the nation’s debt limit, and Congress not due back from recess until Sept. 5, the next six weeks could get very bumpy.
That’s been Trump’s promise, but it’s increasingly apparent that it’s mostly political rhetoric. In July, a leaked transcript of a January phone call between Trump and Mexico’s president, Enrique Pena Nieto, showed that Trump recognized he had painted himself into a corner over the wall’s funding, as he implored Pena Nieto to stop saying publicly that Mexico won’t pay for it.