Washington employees want to know if/how President Donald Trump could actually shut down the government. Read these six possible scenarios.
WASHINGTON — Constructing a border wall is essential to President Donald Trump — so essential, he said, he is willing to “close down” the government to get it.
But what would it take for Trump to actually force a government shutdown? And how likely is that to happen because of the border-wall debate?
As congressional staffers will tell you, it’s complicated. And nobody knows exactly how Trump would react in the moment of truth. Before now, he’s treated government shutdowns as not a big deal, even a good thing. It could be a lot harder to make that argument from the Oval Office.
Here’s a breakdown of the scenarios we could see playing out this fall — some leading to a shutdown, others keeping the government open past the Sept. 30 deadline.
• Scenario 1: The government stays open because Congress passes funding for a border wall, giving Trump what he wants.
Verdict: Less likely. (Click to read the details.)
• Scenario 2: The government stays open because Congress approves new border security measures that satisfy Trump, even though they don’t constitute full-fledged funding for a wall.
Verdict: More likely. (Click to read the details.)
• Scenario 3: The government stays open because Congress passes a short-term spending bill, promising to deal with wall funding at a later date.
Verdict: More likely. (Click to read the details.)
• Scenario 4: The government stays open because McConnell breaks the legislative filibuster, allowing funding for a wall to pass.
Verdict: Less likely. (Click to read the details.)
• Scenario 5: The government shuts down because Congress approves a spending bill without wall funding and Trump makes good on his threat.
Verdict: More likely. (Click to read the details.)
• Scenario 6: The government stays open because Congress manages to overcome Trump’s veto of a spending bill without wall funds.
Verdict: Less likely. (Click to read the details.)
By Elise Viebeck – The Washington Post – updated: 8/24/2017 8:25 AM