As a midnight Friday deadline looms, two key issues are stopping the sides from reaching a temporary spending agreement that would avoid a government shutdown. Late last week, President Trump’s infamous comment about Haiti and African nations derailed a bipartisan plan which would have funded the government, fixed the DACA program, increased military spending and funded the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
This week, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly tried to strike a deal with Democrats, explaining that Trump was uninformed on some issues as a candidate, and has since changed his mind about DACA and the need for a physical wall across the entire border. But this morning, Trump tweeted that he has never changed his mind on the wall and later added that he does not support top Senators’ plans for CHIP funding, either.
Leaders in Congress say, while they are still working toward a solution, it is unclear what kind of bill the president would be willing to sign.
Jim Braude is joined by Boston Herald columnist and host of the “Michael in the Morning” podcast, Michael Graham, and attorney Cynthia Dill, a former Maine state senator and columnist for the Portland Press Herald.
