US legislators cautiously optimistic on a deal to avoid shutdown
With Trump threatening to declare an emergency if Congress does not fund his border wall a solution is needed by Saturday’s deadline, when government funding expires again
Washington — US congressional negotiators expressed optimism on Tuesday that legislators would pass a deal to avert another partial government shutdown, although it was still not clear if President Donald Trump would accept a deal funding border security but not a wall. “I am cautiously optimistic that we will get this through,” Democrat Nita Lowey, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said on Tuesday after news of the tentative pact. “We cannot shut the government down.” Asked if Trump had signalled support for the bipartisan deal, Lowey did not answer directly, but said it had the backing of US House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats, who control the lower chamber. On Monday, Republican senator Richard Shelby said the congressional committee charged by Trump to address border security and government funding agreed in principle to pay for border-security programmes through September 30. Legislators want to avoid repeating the recent 35-day government shutdown that ...
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