--- title: Trump 100 Days: Border Wall Fight Could Be Delayed description: The President pushed Congress to include money for a border wall in a spending bill to keep the government open, but he's now backtracking. canonical: https://time.com/4753623/trump-100-days-border-wall-fall/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-25T01:59:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:35:09.894Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Open to Kicking Border Wall Fight to Fall og:description: Having the fight now might have led to a government shutdown. og:url: https://time.com/4753623/trump-100-days-border-wall-fall/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95607ab40ed56db3/6988ca598fd2eee0e1356b94/gettyimages-672286182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: President Trump Hosts Video Conference with NASA Astronauts og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Open to Kicking Border Wall Fight to Fall twitter:description: Having the fight now might have led to a government shutdown. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95607ab40ed56db3/6988ca598fd2eee0e1356b94/gettyimages-672286182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Open to Kicking Border Wall Fight to Fall > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=13fca0ef-a185-41be-8dac-d37cc29b5d8c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 25, 2017 1:59 AM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump listens while hosting a video conference with NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station in the Oval Office at the White House April 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Pool—Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump listens while hosting a video conference with NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station in the Oval Office at the White House April 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Pool—Getty Images Pool—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 25, 2017 1:59 AM UTC Staring down a potential [government shutdown](http://time.com/4751824/trump-100-days-government-shutdown-magical-thinking/), the White House is prepared to punt a standoff over cash to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to the fall, Republican officials tell TIME. The Trump Administration had insisted that funding for the wall must be part of a spending bill Congress is set to consider before Friday, when the government runs out of money. Congressional leaders in both parties had warned the White House that such a demand would unify Democrats in opposition at a moment when it’s likely Republicans will [need their votes](http://time.com/4750066/how-president-trumps-making-a-shutdown-more-likely/) to clear Friday’s deadline. As late as Monday afternoon the President was still pushing for border funding, but aides started to peddle ideas that perhaps Trump could still claim a win if there were boosted funding for border security—think drones and border guards, not bricks and barbed wire—as a way to save face. At the White House, the President [told](https://twitter.com/TreyYingst/status/856643428368691201) a gathering of conservative journalists that his team could revisit the issue in September. Separately, White House officials phoned colleagues in the Senate and House to offer similar guidance, according to two aides to Senate Republicans. Congress returns from [a two-week break](http://time.com/4734976/congress-recess-town-hall-questions/) on Tuesday and immediately starts a clock ticking down toward Friday’s deadline. If Congress cannot clear a spending bill by midnight, the government would be plunged into shutdown just as Trump is marking his [first 100 days](http://time.com/4750181/trump-100-days-ridiculous-standard/) in office. Such a development—with Republicans controlling all the levers of power—would certainly give the President unwelcome headlines for his first grading period. The White House already is testy about the milestone. Aides are furiously promoting victories, such as the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, administrative moves on coal and steel and rollback of President Barack Obama’s regulations that came late in his second term. But Trump is particularly sensitive to his lack of progress on his 100-day promises he made during the campaign—chief among them, the border wall and the repeal of Obama’s health care law. Trump, however, is confronted with the political reality: the Republican Party is not unified on any number of issues. An effort to ditch the health care law ended in embarrassment. [A reboot](http://time.com/4749300/obamacare-repeal-government-shutdown-congress-trump/), attached to the looming shutdown, had [no takers](http://time.com/4751703/government-shutdown-ahca-obamacare-repeal-paul-ryan/) in congressional leadership because it, too, could plunge the government into chaos. The public push to find money for the border wall appeared to have the same threat. Perhaps looking to distract from the border bungling, Trump on Wednesday plans to unveil a bid to reform the tax code—no less challenging than passing health insurance or immigration. His economic team renewed the conservative pipe dream that the taxes would be so simple that most Americans could complete them on a postcard. His team promised deep tax cuts but dodged when asked how the government might pay for them. Left unsaid amidst the tax code talk: the reforms being discussed would eliminate dozens of deductions that are popular, such as allowing homeowners to write-off interest on their mortgages and charitable contributions. Gimmicks, once again, are set to run hard into the wall of governing—the only wall that seems real in Washington at the moment. _— With reporting by Zeke. J. 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