President Trump said Thursday that Republicans are “wasting their time” looking for a deal on the border wall since he’s sure Democrats won’t support it.
“Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their time,” he tweeted. “Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and Caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I’ve got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during her weekly press conference that she would “of course” allow a vote on any bipartisan bill that comes out the Homeland Security Conference Committee, but insisted the wall wouldn’t be included.
“There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation,” the California Democrat told reporters.
The funds Mr. Trump is looking for from Congress would go toward building around 230 miles of both new physical barriers and renovating outdated sections.
He argued that increased murder rates in Mexico contributed to a crisis on the border.
SEE ALSO: Nancy Pelosi rules out money for border wall in spending legislation
“With Murders up 33% in Mexico, a record, why wouldn’t any sane person want to build a Wall!” he wrote. “Construction has started and will not stop until it is finished.”
Mr. Trump also signaled that he’s done playing semantics. During the shutdown, the president and his team started floating different terms for his wall — calling for steel slats, fencing, or barriers — as a means to undermine Democratic opposition to a “wall.”
“Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing politics,” he tweeted. “A WALL is a WALL!”
Should Congress not include funds for his border wall, Mr. Trump has said he would take the legally questionable route to declare a national emergency and use the military to circumvent Congress.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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