WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump proposed a record $4.7 trillion federal budget for 2020 on Monday, relying on optimistic 3.1 percent economic growth projections alongside accounting shuffles and steep domestic cuts to bring future spending into promised balance in 15 years. The deficit is projected to hit $1.1 trillion in...
House OKs Democrats' Bill Blocking Trump Emergency on Wall
WASHINGTON — Democrats ignored a veto threat and rammed legislation through the House Tuesday that would stymie President Donald Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for his border wall, escalating a clash over whether he was abusing his powers to advance his paramount campaign pledge. The House's 245-182 vote...
Border Wall, Bullet Train: California vs. Trump Escalates
SACRAMENTO — Disputes over President Donald Trump's border wall and California's bullet train are intensifying the feud between the White House and the nation's most populous state. The Trump administration says it plans to cancel or claw back $3.5 billion in federal dollars allocated to California's high-speed rail project. It's...
Trump Declares National Emergency to Build Border Wall
WASHINGTON — Battling with one branch of government and opening a new confrontation with another, President Donald Trump announced Friday he was declaring a national emergency to fulfill his pledge to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump made the announcement from the Rose Garden, as he claimed illegal...
Though Unhappy With Deal, Trump Doesn’t Expect a New Shutdown
WASHINGTON — Under mounting pressure from his own party, President Donald Trump appears to be grudgingly leaning toward accepting an agreement that would head off a threatened second government shutdown but provide just a fraction of the money he's been demanding for his Mexican border wall. Trump said Tuesday he would need...
As Trump Makes Case for Border Wall, Congress Works Out a Deal
EL PASO, Texas — President Donald Trump headed to the Texas border on Monday to argue his case that walls work as Democrats and Republicans back home in Washington announced a deal had been reached to avoid another government shutdown. Trump was bound for El Paso, aiming to reshape the...
Arizona City Officials Decry New Razor Wire on Border Fence
NOGALES, Ariz. — Officials in a small Arizona border city are decrying the installation of new razor wire that now covers the entirety of a tall border wall through downtown. The city council in Nogales, which sits on the border with Nogales, Mexico, is set to consider a proclamation Wednesday...
US Intel Lists North Korea, not Border, as Threat
WASHINGTON — Directly contradicting President Donald Trump, U.S. intelligence agencies told Congress on Tuesday that North Korea is unlikely to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, that the Islamic State group remains a threat and that the Iran nuclear deal is working. The chiefs made no mention of a crisis at the...
Both Parties Feel Urgency After Senate Fails to End Shutdown
WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic leaders hunted Friday for a way to halt the 35-day partial government shutdown, but remained at odds over President Donald Trump's demand that any compromise include money for his coveted border wall. Senators were talking with increased urgency after Thursday's defeat of competing proposals from...
Pelosi Rejects 'Big Down Payment' for Trump Wall to End Shutdown
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rejecting the idea of providing "some big down payment" for President Donald Trump's border wall as part of a solution to the partial government shutdown. Pelosi on Thursday spoke after Trump suggested a "reasonable" installment on such a barrier might be a way...