“I don’t think the president wants to rein in spending at the cost of national security,“ Sen. Richard Shelby said. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo congress Shelby: Trump ‘pretty positive’ on budget caps deal

President Donald Trump seemed “pretty positive” Monday afternoon about the idea of striking a deal with Congress to prevent billions of dollars in sequestration cuts over the next two years, Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby said tonight.

The Alabama Republican met with Trump at the White House to discuss a potential deal on lifting budget caps, as well as the disaster relief package congressional negotiators are racing to finalize before Congress' week-long Memorial Day recess.


The Senate spending leader said he mainly emphasized to the president that $71 billion in defense cuts will take effect next fiscal year if lawmakers fail to reach a deal. Non-defense spending would be slashed by $55 billion.

“I thought it was a positive meeting. I’ve been to a lot of meetings that were not positive,” Shelby told reporters. “I don’t think the president wants to rein in spending at the cost of national security.“

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and acting White House budget director Russ Vought also attended the meeting. Shelby said he requested that Mulvaney, who has urged Trump to hold firm on allowing budget cuts to take effect, attend the gathering.

“He’s in a powerful position with the president. I think he needed to be in there,” Shelby said, adding that Mulvaney mostly listened while the president spoke.

Congressional leaders will meet with Trump administration officials on Tuesday to discuss a deal to sidestep the rolling budget cuts Congress mandated eight years ago under the 2011 Budget Control Act.

While Shelby said he would like to see a two-year deal to raise the caps, it is unclear if the president supports a one- or two-year solution.



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