This Day in Trump, Day 96: Relenting on Border Wall Funding; Court Blocks Sanctuary Cities Order

WASHINGTON -- As Congress approached an upcoming deadline to pass a spending bill and avert a government shutdown, President Donald Trump appeared to relent Tuesday on demands that the bill include funding for his oft-promised border wall between the U.S. and Mexico -- albeit reluctantly.Meanwhile, Trump faced another setback in court as a federal judge blocked his administration from enforcing an executive order to restrict funds for so-called “sanctuary cities.”Highlight of the dayLawmakers worried about Trump’s insistence on including funding for the wall in a must-pass spending bill this week are breathing a sigh of relief. Though White House officials had floated the idea of a deal with Democrats over border wall funding in exchange for continuing Obamacare insurance subsidies, the president indicated during a reception with conservative media on Monday that he's open to delaying funding for wall construction until September.The shift in demand neutralizes what was poised to be the greatest obstacle in negotiations over a short-term spending bill, with Democrats balking over the border wall request and Republicans loath to risk a shutdown when the GOP controls both Congress and the White House.Lawmakers have until Friday to pass a bill to keep the government funded through the fall.From the benchIn the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to use executive authority, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick of California sided with Santa Clara County, the city of San Francisco and other jurisdictions, who argued that a threat to take away federal funds from cities that do not cooperate with some federal immigration enforcement could be unconstitutional.Orrick issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against Trump’s order, reasoning that the constitutional challenge could succeed once the case is fully heard. The executive order signed in January had “broad and threatening language” that creates “significant budget uncertainty” for the cities that are targeted, Orrick wrote in his ruling.Tweeter in chiefDespite backing off his demands that funding for the wall be included in this week’s spending bill, Trump insisted that his position on the proposal more broadly hasn’t changed.  Continue reading...