Money for wall along US border with Mexico must be part of Congress' spending bill: US budget director

The White House budget director says money for the wall President Donald Trump wants to build along the US border with Mexico must be part of the massive spending bill Congress is preparing.

Trump's budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, tells The Associated Press in an interview that additional funding also must be included to hire more immigration agents.

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Lawmakers hope to unveil the catchall spending bill next week. The USD 1 trillion-plus legislation is leftover business from last year's election season gridlock and would cover the operating budgets of every Cabinet department except forVeterans Affairs.

Talks on the spending bill have hit a rough patch and a deadline to avert a government shutdown looms late next week.