President Donald Trump indicated Monday that he might sign legislation that would avert a government shutdown even if lawmakers leave out the $1.4 billion he's requested to begin construction of a wall along the U.S. -Mexico border.
"Last week, I visited with New Mexicans on the border - business owners, immigrants, community leaders, farmers and others - and the overwhelming message I heard was that they oppose President Trump's proposal to build a $70 billion border wall".
Building the wall was Trump's signature campaign promise, but Democrats are quick to point out that Trump had pledged that Mexico would pay for it.
That rapid cycle of demand-to-capitulation is enough to give you whiplash.
On Tuesday, however, Trump tweeted that he has not changed his position on getting the wall built.
Trump removed a crucial sticking point when he said on Monday evening that he may wait until Republicans begin drafting the budget blueprint for the fiscal year that starts on October 1 to seek funds for the wall.
The simple political fact is that a government shutdown would be a massive political problem for Republicans. They control both chambers of Congress and the White House - and everyone knows it.
Trump had run the risk of being blamed by Democrats for a shutdown whose start would coincide with the day he marks 100 days in office.
49ers' Lynch on first-ever draft: 'You can't play scared'
He rushed for 2,045 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2015, but played in only seven games a year ago due to an ankle injury. There are a huge number of possibilities and options that Patriots could be tempted to play the risk.
Republicans are still struggling to prove to a skeptical public that they can be a governing party not just the loyal opposition.
Democrats, whose votes are needed to pass the budget measure, had a less charitable version of negotiations.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker said there was a "substantial figure" in the spending bill dedicated to border security.
Trump, unlike, say, Ted Cruz, is not the sort of person to charge at political windmills. And the way to win is to pick fights where success is the very likely outcome.
Trump punted because punting made political sense. The administration signaled that unless Democrats agreed to support a down payment on the wall, the president would block a new round of health insurance subsidies next year totaling $10 billion. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and a representative for thousands of border residents, I will keep working to educate the Trump administration about reality. Trump got elected to disrupt the status quo, not to get caught up by it. Backing away from the wall, even as a tactical retreat, will not build confidence in his ability to contend with the Washington establishment - and it's hard to see how these calculations change in September when it comes time to get the funds in the FY2018 budget.
Trump struck a far more formal tone than usual, sticking closely to written remarks in front of a group at the Capitol that included survivors and lawmakers as part of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's National Days of Remembrance.
With Trump the line between strategy and sounding-off is a fuzzy one.
There appears to be a pattern emerging.
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