Evie Fordham on August 8, 2018
Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly said he would okay billions for President Donald Trump’s border wall in a break with his party’s stance on immigration.
His statement comes as Donnelly is fighting to maintain his seat in a state that Trump won in 2016 by almost 20 points, according to Politico Wednesday.
“I’m fine with providing [Trump] some more. I actually voted for border wall funding three different times,” Donnelly told Politico. “I’m fine with that. I’m fine with $3 [billion], $3.5, $4 or $5.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee set aside a lesser sum of $1.6 billion for border “fencing.” Trump said he is willing to shut down the government to secure border wall funding and would like $5 billion, reported Politico.
“I would be willing to close it down to get it done,” Trump said at a July 30 press conference. “I would be willing to consider a shut down if we don’t get proper border security.”
The move would hurt Republicans ahead of the November general elections as well as Democrats like Donnelly who are campaigning as bipartisan solution-makers.
Donnelly’s announcement about border wall funding came amid a flurry of ads calling the senator out for having an immigration position that does not represent the people of Indiana, reported Politico.
Donnelly is taking a middle-of-the-road stance on immigration during the election season “so he can stay alive,” the senator’s Republican challenger Mike Braun told Politico. Braun and Donnelly were neck-and-neck in an Axios poll that closed July 2, reported the Indiana Business Journal.
Donnelly called abolishing U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement “a terrible idea” in an interview with the Washington Examiner published Tuesday.
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