Trump vents frustration over wall funding, fueling uncertainty over shutdown

President Trump on Thursday blamed Congress for refusing his request for border-wall funding, fueling uncertainty about whether he will sign a spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown.

“When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries – but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!” he tweeted.

{mosads}Trump also planned to meet with House Republicans at noon to discuss plans to avoid a shutdown, which have been thrown into disarray by the president’s change of heart.

“At this moment, the president does not want to go further without border security, which includes steel slats or a wall,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. “The president is continuing to weigh his options.”

Congress had been moving forward Thursday morning with a short-term spending measure that would fund seven government agencies through Feb. 8, but does not include the $5 billion Trump asked for to construct his long-desired wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

If Trump refuses to sign the measure by Friday, it would trigger a partial shutdown.

While the president earlier this week backed away from his veto threat, conservative lawmakers and right-wing pundits on cable news have pressured him to nix the funding measure.

There were signs on Thursday morning that the spending deal could be falling apart.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) took a lengthy phone call with Trump during a raucous conference meeting, when rank-and-file members expressed outrage the bill did not include the money for the wall and disaster-relief efforts.

Just hours earlier, Republican lawmakers said leaders had received assurances that Trump will sign the stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR).

“All indications are he’s comfortable with the clean CR,” said Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress.

Democrats have said they will not accept a government funding bill that includes wall funding.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats are open to tweaking the legislation, but stressed that “in terms of wall funding, that’s a non-starter. I think they know that.”

The White House previously signaled it was backing down from Trump’s demand for $5 billion in wall funding and aides had privately offered assurances that the president plans to sign the bill.

Trump on Thursday morning also signaled he was poised to accept a funding measure without wall funding, tweeting that “with so much talk about the Wall, people are losing sight of the great job being done on our Southern Border by Border Patrol, ICE and our great Military.”

But the president’s frustration appears to have built as conservative commentators like Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham accused him of caving on his demands for $5 billion in wall money.

The scenario resembles the fight in March over a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package.

Trump begrudgingly signed the measure just hours after threatening to veto it, and vowed to never again sign similar legislation.

“I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again,” Trump said during a press conference. “I’m not going to do it again. Nobody read it. It’s only hours old. Some people don’t even know what’s in it.”

–Updated at 11:41 a.m.