McConnell Urges Trump to Sign Budget Deal, Use Legal Means to Secure Border

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump should sign the compromise budget deal on border security and then take advantage of all legal means to find more money, if necessary, to secure the border, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Tuesday.

"First of all, I hope he signs the bill and second he ought to feel free to use whatever tools he can legally use to enhance his effort to secure the border", McConnell said.

The compromise reached by congressional negotiators on Monday includes less than $1.4 billion for new fencing on the US-Mexican border, less than the $5.7 billion sought by Trump to build a much-anticipated border wall.

READ MORE: Trump Says US to Build 'Human Wall' on Mexico Border if Necessary

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he was not happy with the deal but expressed optimism about getting some funding to get started on his objective. The president also said it was unlikely another government shutdown would occur.

Details of the agreement must be written into a series of bills, approved by both houses of Congress and enacted by Trump. Republican and Democratic congressmen failed to reach a deal during their talks on Sunday. Failure to arrive at a compromise by Friday could result in a new federal government stalemate, following a record-long 35-day shutdown, which started in December.

WATCH: More Than 100 Central American Migrants Attempt to Scale Border Wall

US lawmakers and Trump temporarily re-opened the federal government for a three-week period until 15 February to negotiate a deal on border security.

Democratic leaders in Congress have called the wall proposal immoral while claiming there is no crisis. In turn, Trump has repeatedly threatened to declare a national emergency to address what he calls a crisis over crime caused by immigrant gangs, drug smuggling and human trafficking of would-be migrants.

An emergency stance would reportedly allow Trump to order the US military to build a wall with funds diverted from elsewhere in the federal government.