US lawmakers announced late Monday an agreement in principle to avoid another government shutdown, with nearly $1.4 billion in money for construction of a wall on the border with Mexico, as President Donald Trump pushed his politically explosive crusade at a rally in the frontier city of El Paso. Senator Richard Shelby, a key Republican negotiator, told reporters an agreement in principle had been reached between Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Senior congressional aides told AFP the agreement included $1.375 billion in funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border — a key campaign promise of Trump, who had demanded $5.7 billion for his pet project.
