Government shutdown: Border wall money out, Obamacare fight on

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But on Tuesday night, some leading Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate expressed optimism that Congress could pass the longer-term bill and avoid having to rely on another temporary extension of last year's funding levels.

Democratic votes are invariably needed to pass catchall spending bills, which typically are resented by many tea party Republicans. A 21-day shutdown during the Clinton Administration began December 15, 1995 and lasted until January 6, 1996.

"If the threat of the wall is removed ... our negotiations can continue and we can hopefully resolve all of the outstanding issues by Friday", said Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, on Tuesday. The White House has indicated it doesn't want a government shutdown, as has the GOP leadership in the House and Senate. A partial shutdown would start on Saturday, Trump's 100th day in office. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 25, 2017, to discuss President Donald Trump's first 100 days.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional negotiators on Tuesday inched toward a potential agreement on a catchall spending bill that would deny President Donald Trump's request for immediate funding to construct a wall along the Mexico border. But the White House leader often said that Mexico would pay for the wall, while the Mexican president has said his country will not do that.

Republicans are also vetting proposed changes to their beleaguered health care bill that they hope will attract enough votes to finally push it through the House.

Known as the El Chapo Act, the bill was introduced by Trump's Republican contender in the 2016 presidential election, Senator Ted Cruz.

Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan were embarrassed last month when they had to pull their "Obamacare" replacement bill off the floor without a vote as it became clear it would fail. Fox host Ainsley Earhardt mentioned that the White House may not get the funding this week, given Trump's reported comments Monday night.

Ivanka Trump faces groans, laughs after defending her dad
President Trump tweeted that article Tuesday, adding: "Proud of @IvankaTrump for her leadership on these important issues". Ivanka Trump also planned to visit the German capital's memorial to the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis.

The original GOP bill eliminated numerous "Obamacare" mandates, offered skimpier subsidies for consumers to buy care and rolled back a Medicaid expansion.

"If the administration would drop their 11th-hour demand for a wall that Democrats, and a good number of Republicans, oppose, congressional leaders could quickly reach a deal", House said in a statement Friday.

The question is how far he will go to compromise.

The Republican had signalled he could wait for funding until autumn 2017 following a stand-off between the White House and Congress over a spending bill that includes $1.1bn (£0.7bn, €0.9bn) in funding for a down payment for construction of the border wall.

Trump vowed to fight for the wall.

"I support additional border security funding", said Senator Lindsey Graham, a critic of Mr Trump who dined with the president on Monday at the White House.

After the news from Trump's meeting Monday, Schumer said Trump's taking wall funding off the table would help move forward the process of passing a spending bill.

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