Trump at the Agriculture Improvement Act signing December 20, 2018.
Trump: Made my position clear on wall funding
02:25 - Source: CNN
Washington CNN  — 

Thursday morning started quiet in Washington. Too quiet.

Following the Republican-controlled Senate’s passage Wednesday night of a short-term resolution to fund the government through February 8 – and avoid the political tremors caused by a government shutdown – the Republican-controlled House was expected to follow suit Thursday.

Then everyone would go home for the holidays happy(ish). (In truth, lots of House members, especially those who lost their re-election bids last month, were already home. And most senators skedaddled out of DC soon after the vote last night.) 

Except that Donald Trump wasn’t done changing his mind. After initially saying last week that he would be proud to own a government shutdown over the border if Democrats refused to give him the $5 billion he wanted for a wall on the southern border, Trump’s position seemed to soften earlier this week, with advisers suggesting he would likely sign a short-term measure.

Then, this tweet on Thursday morning: “When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!”

Then came a meeting with House Republican leaders in which things came into clear focus: Trump wasn’t keeping the government open unless and until he got the border wall money he wanted

“I’ve made my position very clear,” he said. “Any measure that funds the government must include border security.” (Sidebar: His position has been anything but clear. See above.)

And with that, the reality TV President created a twist in the season finale episode of his White House show that almost no one saw coming. And that Republicans in Congress had no answers for.

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  • Where do things go from here? Who knows? I have a hard time seeing how Trump gets even a piece of the border wall funding he is demanding before the government is set to close tomorrow night. A shutdown seems the likeliest option – although, based on the last 24 hours, who knows in which direction this all goes.

    The Point: Trump, deep down, loves all of this. He is making moves, upending expectations and – in his mind – standing firm on principle against the establishment forces, in both parties, that are just trying to do what’s easy.