Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer accused President Trump of throwing a “temper tantrum” over his demand for $5 billion in border wall money, and said Thursday that Democrats will never vote for that.
The New York Democrat said Democrats will filibuster any attempt to spend more than $1.6 billion on the wall, acknowledging that would send the government into a partial shutdown — but he said the blame will fall on Mr. Trump.
“The only position that cannot garner 60 votes is the president’s position,” he said, referring to the 60-vote filibuster threshold his party can prevent the Senate from reaching.
The wall money is indeed the biggest sticking point, though not the lone one, as Congress rushes to finish up the 2019 spending bills. Capitol Hill faces facing a Dec. 7 deadline.
Mr. Schumer said the $1.3 billion allocated last year for fencing and other border security hasn’t been fully spent, so it’s not clear why the president is asking for a full $5 billion now, other than politics.
“This is the president trying to manufacture a shutdown to fire up his base,” Mr. Schumer said. “Make no mistake. The president is the only person who holds the ultimate responsibility for a government shutdown.”
Homeland Security, though, says the $1.3 billion has all been accounted for, saying it is going to new walls in four different border sectors.
The department says it already has plans for 215 more miles it could build if it got the $5 billion, covering portions of six different border sectors.
The House has passed a bill that includes Mr. Trump’s requested $5 billion. Senators have written a different version that only includes $1.6 billion — the amount Mr. Trump originally requested, before boosting his ask partway through the year.
Mr. Schumer said Congress can either accept the Senate bill, which would cut the House out, or else it can continue spending at this year’s levels of $1.3 billion through a stopgap “continuing resolution.”
But even that level is anathema to Hispanic Democrats.
“We urge the Committee to provide zero funding for the border wall,” the chair and vice chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a letter to leaders earlier this week.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.