UPDATE: House Passes Border Bill, Sends to President’s Desk

WASHINGTON (AP) – Hard-fought legislation that gives President Donald Trump 55 additional miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border – well short of what he requested – is on the way to his desk after a bipartisan House vote.

The House voted 300-128 with Republican North Dakota Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Democratic Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson both voting in favor of the bill.

The bill also closes a chapter by preventing a second government shutdown at midnight Friday and by providing $333 billion to finance several Cabinet agencies through September.

Trump has indicated he’ll sign the measure though he is not happy with it, and for a few hours Thursday he was reportedly having second thoughts.

The White House has announced Trump will declare a national emergency that would enable him to transfer funding from other accounts for additional miles of border fencing

“I voted tonight to build 55 miles of new physical barriers on the southern border, in addition to $22.5 billion in other border security measures. This is an important step to secure the US-Mexico border and ending the humanitarian crisis. The bill also includes victories for ND. Rural North Dakotans, farmers and ranchers all benefit. While it’s far from perfect, the funding for the border barrier, 1200 new CBP agents, along with the wins for the ND ag community outweigh my significant concerns with the bill,” North Dakota Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong tweeted.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has passed a bipartisan border security plan that would finance 55 additional miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, significantly less than President Donald Trump wanted.

The vote came shortly after the White House announced he’ll sign the measure and immediately announce he’ll use emergency powers to build additional miles without approval from Congress.

The 83-16 Senate vote advances the measure to the House for a vote Thursday night that would send it to Trump for his signature in time to avert another partial government shutdown this weekend. Minnesota Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, as well as North Dakota Republican Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, voted in favor of the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has previously said he opposes the use of emergency powers, said he will support Trump’s decision to use them.

The border security plan is part of a broader $333 billion spending bill.

“From day one, President Trump has made it clear he’s ready to address the crisis at the southern border, whether or not Congress works with him. While Democratic leadership has refused to tackle this issue, I stand with President Trump in favor of funding border security as we head into budget talks for the upcoming fiscal year. As it relates to building physical barriers along the southern border, I met with Tommy Fisher of Fisher Industries today, who believes his North Dakota company could build the wall on time and under budget. I’ve encouraged the President’s team to work with Tommy’s company, and I hope they do,” North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer said.

“We wanted more funding for border barriers in line with the President’s request, but Democrats held that up. At the same time, however, we worked to ensure the agreement keeps the President’s options open, and we will continue to work with him to build the wall,” North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven said.