Republicans are set to spend Tuesday leading negotiations on government spending, taxes and health care, as they try to avoid a looming government shutdown while also demonstrating forward motion on President Trump’s top domestic priorities.

With congressional Republicans eager to avoid shutting down the government on Friday over a spending impasse, the administration is projecting confidence that a shutdown will be avoided.

Trump seemed to soften his demand for immediate funding for construction of a border wall on Monday afternoon, telling a small group of conservative reporters that he would be open to delaying a confrontation with Democrats over the border until September, according to White House officials.

Early Tuesday morning, however, Trump — seemingly upset with news reports about his comments — tweeted, “Don’t let the fake media tell you that I have changed my position on the WALL. It will get built and help stop drugs, human trafficking etc.”

Still, congressional leaders were encouraged by the appearance of flexibility from the White House.

Spending talks, however, remain stalled over a number of other outstanding conflicts — including Democrats’ demand that the spending bill include guaranteed payments for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, according to several aides who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Republican leaders had not yet submitted a new offer to reflect Trump’s shift on the border wall as of Tuesday morning, and an agreement did not appear imminent, the aides said.

“If the threat of the wall is removed — as I hope is the case — our negotiations can continue and we can hopefully resolve all of the outstanding issues by Friday,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in remarks on Tuesday morning.

House and Senate negotiators worked throughout a two-week Easter break on details of the spending plan, but the talks broke down last week after White House officials began demanding greater concessions from Democrats, including explicit funding for the border wall. Democrats firmly oppose any new money for construction of a wall, but have said they are willing to agree to significant increases in defense spending, including money for the Department of Homeland Security to spend on surveillance and security on the border with Mexico.

The main areas of conflict remain over how much money will be sent to cover subsidy payments under the ACA, funding for a coal miner’s health-care fund and the fate of the border wall, aides said.

With spending talks still underway, Republican leaders also planned to launch talks on Tuesday over Trump’s tax reform proposals and new plans to salvage an Obamacare replacement bill.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn are set to meet with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and leaders of the congressional tax-writing committees to review details of Trump’s plan.

The president has instructed advisers to propose cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, according to White House officials who said they were not authorized to speak publicly about the plan. The rate reduction — which independent budget experts say could cost the federal government $2.4 trillion over a decade — is larger than what House Republicans had proposed in their own plan.

Meanwhile, senior leaders of the House Freedom Caucus — the conservative bloc of lawmakers who opposed the initial Obamacare replacement plan — are scheduled to meet Tuesday evening as the House comes back into session. The entire caucus isn’t scheduled to meet to discuss a way forward on health-care legislation until Wednesday night, aides said.

Republicans are also working to better define Trump’s signature campaign promise, arguing that any form of border security would fulfill it.

“There will never be a 2,200-mile wall built, period,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a supporter of immigration reform who challenged Trump in the 2016 primaries, said on Monday. “I think it’s become symbolic of better border security. It’s a code word for better border security. If you make it about actually building a 2,200-mile wall, that’s a bridge too far — but I’m mixing my metaphors.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a key appropriator and member of Senate leadership, said that “there could be a wall in some places and technology in other places,” implying that there would not be funding for the wall sketched out in campaign rhetoric. “I think you’re going to get a down payment on border security generally,” he said.

Trump has asked Congress for $1.5 billion in new money to start construction on the wall, and he wants an additional $2.6 billion for the fiscal year that begins in October. A complete border wall, experts say, would cost $21.6 billion and take 3½ years to construct.

At the White House, press secretary Sean Spicer portrayed Trump’s position not as a demand but rather as one of two priorities — the other being additional military funding — in evolving negotiations with Congress. He left open the possibility that the president could agree to funding for border activities generally, such as additional fencing or drones.

“I’m not going to get ahead of the negotiations that are ongoing,” Spicer said.

Should lawmakers fail to find consensus by Friday, there are plans ready to quickly pass through the House and Senate a short-term stopgap bill that would keep the government open until discussions are finalized.

Read this story at The Washington Post.

President Trump attended a working lunch yesterday with ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council and their spouses in the State Dining Room of the White House. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump attended a working lunch yesterday with ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council and their spouses in the State Dining Room of the White House. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)