Paul Ryan suggests Congress will delay border wall funding until next year
Speaker Paul Ryan is vowing that Congress won’t let the federal government shut down at the end of April and says lawmakers will pass a package that will fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, through September.
“We’re not gonna have a government shutdown,” the Wisconsin Republican said in an interview that aired Thursday with“CBS This Morning” host Norah O’Donnell. “The president doesn’t want to have a government shutdown. It’s funding the government from April 28 to September 30.”
Congress must pass a new spending package by April 28 or the government will shut down. Last year, lawmakers twice delayed the passage of 2017 funding in order to give the Trump White House more control over spending levels. The government is currently running on funding from fiscal 2016, which ended last September.
Ryan suggested that Congress won’t fulfill the Trump administration’s request for additional money for the Department of Homeland Security for the border wall for this year, though he said there will be funding for border security.
“The big chunk of money for the wall, really, is...next fiscal year’s appropriations because they literally can’t start construction even this quickly,” he said.
In its initial budget blueprint released earlier this month, the White House had requested $1.4 billion for the current fiscal year to fund the initial developments of the wall. Democrats have suggested they would oppose any spending bill that includes money for the proposed wall.
The speaker insisted that Republicans won’t revisit their effort from 2015 to try to defund Planned Parenthood in the government-wide spending package and will instead do it through legislation through the budget reconciliation process.
“We think the smart way to go is...reconciliation because that only requires 50 votes. It takes 60 votes to defund Planned Parenthood in the Senate if you go through appropriations. I don’t think there are 60 votes,” he said.
Asked how his relationship is with President Trump, Ryan said, “Very good. We talk frequently actually. Actually we, you know, we didn’t know each other very well or if at all before the election. But we’ve established a very good relationship.”
Ryan said he talks to Mr. Trump “just about” every day.