There are serious questions about whether Republicans have enough votes to pass the wall money in the House. The issue is so divisive that GOP leaders have avoided scheduling stand-alone votes on that funding to avoid a potentially embarrassing failure to pass one of Trump's biggest demands. But after Thursday's White House meeting they were left with little choice, given the president's refusal to accept a stopgap measure without the money.
House Republicans face an even greater challenge this week with more than a dozen GOP members absent from the most recent vote.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued this statement after the meeting:
"President Trump just met with Republican Members of the House. Not surprisingly, they all feel strongly about Border Security stopping the flow of drugs, stopping human trafficking, and stopping terrorism. We protect nations all over the world, but Democrats are unwilling to protect our nation. We urgently need funding for border security and that includes a wall."
Plans for a speedy vote on a short-term-spending bill crumbled ahead of a Friday night deadline as some House Republicans threatened to pull their support for any spending measure that does not include additional border security money.
House GOP leaders struggled to persuade members to support a bill to extend current spending levels through Feb. 8. Many are concerned that Republicans will not have another chance to fulfill Trump's demand for $5 billion to build a wall on the border with Mexico. The Senate approved the measure Wednesday night.
Conservatives such as Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., say voting on the short-term-spending bill without border wall money amounts to a surrender on one of Trump's signature campaign promises. Brooks said he is confident that the House could uphold a veto if a spending bill does pass and Trump refuses to sign it. But Brooks, like most Republicans, said they have no clear sign from Trump about what he is willing to support.
"That is the $5 billion question," Brooks said. "I wish we had clarity on that; that would help us decide what to do."
Trump tweeted Thursday morning that Democrats know "Steel Slats (Wall) are necessary for Border Security" and are "putting politics over Country" by refusing to fund the wall. He also threatened "not to sign any of their legislation, including infrastructure, unless it has perfect Border Security."
In a tweet later in the morning, Trump said he was "promised the Wall and Border Security" by congressional leadership when he signed a spending package last year and that "it didn't happen!"
Frustration with the spending bill extends beyond a core group of conservatives who typically oppose spending bills. Some reliable leadership allies, such as Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., also expressed concerns about the spending bill.
"This is a different circumstance. We're about to lose the majority and we've made promises that haven't been kept," Womack said. "If we aren't willing to fight now on the way out of the majority, then when are we willing to fight?"
Republican leaders had hoped to easily approve the spending measure to avoid a last-minute panic over spending. Funding for about a quarter of the government will run out at midnight on Friday, and the government will be forced to partially close unless the spending measure is agreed to.