WASHINGTON (AP) — Negotiators are striking a distinctly optimistic tone after a meeting with President Donald Trump on the broad parameters of a potential bipartisan agreement on border security.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama said Thursday’s session in the Oval Office was “the most positive meeting I’ve had in a long time” and that the president was “very reasonable.”
Trump had previously said he doesn’t expect the talks to produce much and he’s threatened to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and build a U.S.-Mexico border wall. But Shelby said Trump during their meeting “urged me to get to yes” on an agreement.
Both Democratic and GOP negotiators said a deal could come as early as this weekend to make a Feb. 15 government shutdown deadline.