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'Give Trump the money' for the wall, Democrat says with Senate vote scheduled for this week
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'Give Trump the money' for the wall, Democrat says with Senate vote scheduled for this week

'I'd give him the whole thing'

Some Congressional Democrats are coming around to the idea of funding a southern border wall as the partial government shutdown drags on, with Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) saying Tuesday that Democrats should vote to "Give Trump the money," according to The Hill.

"I'd give him the whole thing ... and put strings on it so you make sure he puts the wall where it needs to be," Peterson told KFGO-TV. "Why are we fighting over this? We're going to build that wall anyway, at some time."

Peterson expressed concerns about giving President Donald Trump a "blank check," but said he didn't want to keep the money from him "if he's going to use the money correctly." He also said Democrats "look at me cross-eyed" when he brings up the idea.

Where are we now?

There is some hope for an end to the shutdown this week, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has agreed to hold a vote on two competing funding bills.

One bill represents Trump's offer over the weekend to provide temporary legal protections to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status immigrants in exchange for $5.7 million in wall funding.

The other bill is a backup plan, a three-week continuing resolution that would fund the government at current levels and reopen it while border security negotiations continue.

"For the first time, we will get a vote on whether to open the government without any decision one way or the other on border security," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

What's the outlook?

It's possible that neither of the bills will pass. Many Democrats view wall funding as a non-starter, putting the passage of Trump's proposal in jeopardy. And a Senate-approved continuing resolution in December died after Trump said he wouldn't support a bill that didn't include wall funding. The votes could be a good indicator of which side has gained the most ground through this extended shutdown.

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