Democrats are divided over whether or not to negotiate with President Trump over funding his proposed border wall.
Senator Charles Schumer and Senate Democrats agree that $1.6 billion is a good starting point for negotiations with the president.
But Democrats in the U.S. House, including Congressman Henry Cuellar, who represents parts of San Antonio and Laredo, urged House Leader Nancy Pelosi to refuse to fund the project.
“The issue of the border wall has been very difficult for all of us in the sense that the president is stuck on this 14th-century solution for a 21st-century issue,” Cuellar said.
Cuellar is one of four Texas lawmakers in the U.S. House that signed a letter to Senate Democrats opposing its $1.6 billion dollar offer to the president.
In the meantime, the government continues to function.
Cuellar, who sits on the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, said its committee passed a “spending patch” that provides enough funding to keep the federal government open for business until Dec. 21.
Pelosi and Schumer plan to meet with the president in the Oval Office on Tuesday to discuss their differences and avoid a Christmas-time government shutdown.
Ryan Poppe can be reached at rpoppe@tpr.org or on Twitter @RyanPoppe1
