President Trump insists on steel slatted fence with funding counteroffer to Democrats

President Trump has offered to come down from his $5 billion border wall demand, the White House said Sunday, signaling he would sign a bill that includes less money and puts limits on the type of fencing that can be constructed.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said they made an offer to Democrats between the $1.3 billion included in last year’s spending and the $5 billion Mr. Trump has demanded this year. He said they will agree that the money must be spent on a “steel slatted fence,” which would rule out any of the concrete prototypes that the president tested last year.

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“We moved off of the 5, we hope they move up from their 1.3,” Mr. Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday.”

The willingness to accept less money may not be as important as the president’s signal that he will accept “fencing” instead of a “wall.” During the campaign and the early days of his administration, he chided those who equated the two and said only a wall would work.

Despite the movement, there was a sense in Washington that the partial government shutdown that began Saturday morning could extend for some time — though it was not clear how much it would be felt.

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