A budget deal to keep the government open passed the Senate this afternoon, after President Trump told Sen. Mitch McConnell he'd sign it and then declare a national emergency to fully fund a border wall. The $333 billion deal to keep on the job 800,000 federal workers at six federal agencies contains $1.375 billion for a 55-mile steel fence. Trump had made a "beautiful wall," estimated to cost $5.7 billion and running across 230 miles of border, part of his 2016 campaign platform. According to Santa Barbara Rep. Salud Carbajal's office, Trump intends to pull the funding from the Pentagon, which saw an $82 billion increase this year over 2017's funding, according to the Washington Post, or $716 billion for 2019.
The House is expected to pass the legislation this evening. The president has promised to sign it, said Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who interrupted Sen. Charles Grassley mid-speech to announce a deal had been reached and to begin the Senate voting process.
Trump will raid a $16 billion pot of not-yet-obligated military construction, Carbajal's office stated in a press release, and another $14 billion in funding for Army Corps civil works projects to raise the wall financing.