Trump retreats on wall funding

The threat of a US government shutdown this weekend has appeared to recede after President Trump backed away from a demand Congress include funding for his planned border wall with Mexico in a spending bill.

Even if the fight over wall funding is over, Republicans and Democrats still have difficult issues to resolve as they face a Friday night deadline when existing money expires for many federal agencies.

There was growing sentiment among lawmakers they would need to pass a short-term extension of current spending, possibly of one week’s duration, in order to finish negotiating longer-term legislation for funding the government through to end of September.