House Republican leaders are reportedly ready to concede that there's no possible way they will accomplish everything they intend to accomplish during the month of September and, to that end, they're preparing to punt on government funding.
The only hold up appears to be the idea that Trump may not be willing to sign a continuing resolution if it doesn't include money for his fantasy border wall.
Top Hill sources believe the most likely scenario is that a coalition of Republican leaders, Republican moderates and Democrats cobble together a bill that extends government funding for three months, reauthorizes the Children's Health Insurance Program and raises the debt limit.
Hill leaders have discussed ways to get Trump "enough" on border security so he feels they're making enough progress to sign their funding bills. This could mean modest funding for the wall or other border security measures that moderates could live with, and/or other avenues to add funding to fight international crime gangs like MS-13.
I don't believe Trump would veto a government funding bill because he could have done that already. He had a chance to force the issue earlier this year when Congress funded the government for what remains of fiscal 2017, but he didn't.
Trump likes to talk about his fantasy wall in public, especially in front of dwindling crowds of adoring dolts, but thanks to the leak of Trump's phone call with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto we know he privately concedes that it's all a big game.
In any case, a bill that includes border wall funding would require 60 votes in the Senate so it seems unlikely that such a bill could ever reach the White House.
If Congress funds the federal government for a three month period, that means we'll be having this same discussion in December just as we did last December. And the December before that. And the one before that.
It's not as if a three month funding extension will afford Congressional Republicans a great deal of time to learn how to govern. The legislative schedule for the period between October and December is not currently available, but Congress is not typically in session for very many days during that period. It becomes progressively more difficult to pass big pieces of legislation after the summer recess is over.