Late Thursday following weeks of political invective and shutdown threats, the House of Representatives passed – by a final vote of 217-185 – a measure that will fund the government through February 8 that included an allocation of over five billion dollars for the construction of a physical barrier along the United States’ southern border.
Commonly referred to as “The Wall,” the massive construction project is a key campaign promise President Trump is one step closer in fulfilling.
In remarks Thursday afternoon during the signing ceremony for the Farm Bill (the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018), President Trump reiterated his demand to Congress:
At this moment, there is a debate over funding border security and the wall, also called — so that I give them a little bit of an out — “steel slats.” We don’t use the word “wall” necessarily, but it has to be something special to do the job — steel slats.
I’ve made my position very clear: Any measure that funds the government must include border security. It has to. Not for political purposes but for our country, for the safety of our community.
Breitbart News reported:
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) cheered the bill’s passage in a statement on Thursday, saying, “Tonight the House passed a Continuing Resolution to keep the government open, secure our borders, and provide relief to communities harmed by natural disasters.”
“Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats now have to decide whether it is worth shutting down the government to keep us from securing our border,” McCarthy added.
The House Freedom Caucus, who led the charge for border wall funding, released a statement on Thursday, contending that the Senate must now pass the spending bill with border wall funding.
The Freedom Caucus said:
Republicans in Congress have continually told the American people that we would fight for wall funding, and today the House of Representatives took its first step toward fulfilling that promise. The Senate must follow our lead. It’s time we do what we said and work with President Trump and the American people to secure our borders.
The House Freedom Caucus led a special order on Wednesday night, urging the president to fight for border security funding. The House conservatives also offered an amendment to the bill that would include $5 billion in border wall funding as well as closing the “catch and release” loophole. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) said that House conservatives will back him if he vetoes any legislation without border security funding.
With the Christmas holiday less that a week away, the Senate is now set to take up the measure.
