Border Wall Battle: Trump tells House GOP he won’t sign Senate bill

President Donald Trump has told congressional Republicans he “will not sign” a spending bill passed by the Senate to avoid a partial government shutdown Friday, and he’s citing an impasse over money for a border wall with Mexico.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says after leaving a meeting with Trump at the White House that he and other leaders are going to go back to Capitol Hill to “work on adding border security” to the legislation.

Trump is facing a backlash from conservative supporters who’ve urging to him to stick with an earlier pledge to force a shutdown in hopes of securing money for his long-promised border wall. The wall was the top promise of his presidential campaign.

House Republicans are making a last-ditch attempt to add $5 billion for President Trump’s border wall with Mexico to a government funding bill.

The third-ranking House Republican says the GOP majority will try to add that money along with disaster aid for hurricane and wildfire victims.

It’s unclear whether the bill can pass the House. Asked what happens if the vote fails, Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise says: “That’s a negative attitude.”

A partial government shutdown will begin at midnight on Friday unless the impasse is resolved.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is playing down the possibility of a shutdown. The California Republican says: “I think you’ll find that we’ll be able to move forward.”

The Senate passed a short-term spending bill without the wall money on Wednesday evening. Trump has told Republicans he won’t sign it.