IN-Sen: Incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly supports giving Trump upward of $5 billion for border wall
Incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-In.) said that he supports giving President Donald Trump upward of $5 billion dollars toward border wall construction.
What are the details?
Donnelly, who is up for re-election in November and is facing businessman and former Republican state Rep. Mike Braun, has sided with Trump on funding for the border wall, according to Politico report Wednesday.
Donnelly’s support of funding the border wall breaks with many of his fellow Democrats who are opposed to providing funding to the project.
Donnelly, who has voted with the president 50 percent of the time, also voted to confirm Trump’s first Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, in 2017.
Donnelly is set to meet with the president’s second SCOTUS pick, Brett Kavanaugh, on Wednesday.
According to Politico, Donnelly appears to support allocating funds toward the border wall in order to prevent a government shutdown.
The president has threatened a government shutdown this fall if he does not receive the promise of adequate funding for the wall construction.
“I’m fine with providing him some more,” Donnelly said. “I actually voted for border wall funding three different times. I’m fine with that. I’m fine with $3, $3.5, $4, or $5 billion this fall.”
Although estimates vary widely, most estimates have suggested that the border wall would cost at least $20 billion to fully construct.
Braun, who is a vocal Trump supporter, told the outlet that he’s skeptical about Donnelly’s notion of funding.
“My gut would tell me he wasn’t saying that nine, 10 months ago,” Braun said. “He’s going to probably even be cut some slack by his base so he can stay alive and have a chance of staying in contention.”
What else?
Indiana’s Senate election in November is one of 10 “most likely to flip in 2018,” CNN noted in January.
At the time of this writing, the Cook Political Report calls the race a toss-up.
Donnelly and Braun will face off in their first debate on Oct. 8. The second debate is set for Oct. 30.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/08/13/in-sen-incumbent-sen-joe-donnelly-supports-giving-trump-upward-of-5-billion-for-border-wall