Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday afternoon that Donald Trump plans sign a federal government spending package that reflects compromises over his US-Mexico border wall, while also declaring a national state of emergency, which Trump intends to use to obtain more money for The Wall.
"I just had an opportunity to speak with President Trump and he’s prepared to sign the bill," McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor. "He will also be signing a national emergency declaration at the same time."
After the Senate votes, the House is also expected to pass the spending package.
This came after Trump said earlier in the day that he was still reviewing the bill. In the morning, Republican senators had said that they "pray" Trump signs it into law, averting another government shutdown on Friday.
The Senate is expected to act first on the 1,159-page bill, which was released just after midnight. The House will likely vote later in the evening, ahead of the Friday night deadline to prevent another partial government shutdown.
Trump has said he is not "happy" with the measure, though he has been expected to sign it. "Reviewing the funding bill with my team at the @WhiteHouse!" he tweeted Thursday afternoon, ahead of the Senate vote.
The bill would provide $1.375 billion for 55 miles of pedestrian and levee fencing in the Rio Grande Valley, significantly less than Trump's $5.7 billion request. It also prohibits the use of a concrete wall or other Trump prototypes and specifies that only "existing technologies" for fencing and barriers can be used.
WOW. After hours of limbo in Senate, McConnell suddenly appears on the floor -- interrupting Grassley, who snaps about it -- and says Trump will sign the spending/border bill and declare a national emergency.
— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) February 14, 2019
