I agree...unless the Dems win a majority somewhere. Then they crank the crazy to 20.
“unless the Dems win a majority somewhere.”
That has got to be a big part of the calculus. Dems have been expected to win the House, and would probably pull that $1.6 billion/yr. out of the baseline budget, and never give another dime.
So the Republicans might be trying to arrange a couple of extra years worth in under the wire, before the Dems take over the House in January - but Dem Senators can’t/won’t vote for it before the election.
The Dem Senators (and possibly Paul Ryan) might be trying to pull a fast one on the President, by assuring him they have a deal to get a plus up for wall building before the new Congress comes in, if he will wait till after the election - and then renege, using some excuse, or a single fall guy to take the blame.
Lets hope that there is an enforcement mechanism that the President can use, if they try to screw him.