WASHINGTON _ Disaster recovery funds for victims of California's wildfires and other natural disasters have emerged as a bargaining chip in the battle to build President Donald Trump's border wall.
Members of Congress formally launched negotiations this week on a spending deal to keep the government from shutting down again on Feb. 15, a discussion that hinges on Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico.
But other less-controversial government funding is also tied up in the discussions, including as much as $14 billion for communities in California, North Carolina, Florida and Puerto Rico that have been pummeled by fires, flooding and hurricanes in the past two years.
