President Trump has just told Republican House leaders that he will not sign the Senate’s continuing resolution that would keep the federal government open until February 8 because it doesn’t contain money for a border wall.

Trump informed lawmakers of his stance during an emergency meeting with House Republican leaders, where the president said he would not sign the bill the Senate passed on Wednesday night. That measure would fund government operations through February 8 but deny Trump any new funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The president informed us that he will not sign the bill that came over from the Senate last evening because of his legitimate concerns for border security,” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said.

House Republicans now will attempt to add an amendment to the Senate measure that adds $5 billion — the amount Trump has demanded — for the construction of a border wall and other security measures, as well as additional funding to deal with recent natural disasters.

This decision seems to have caught a lot of folks by surprise:

Sen @RonJohnsonWI says that in the GOP lunch just now (where only a fraction of Senators were in attendance because most are already gone) they read a tweet aloud that Trump won’t sign the CR, and McConnell left to go speak to @SpeakerRyan.

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) December 20, 2018

Guys, this is theater…but it is amusing theater. Yesterday, President Trump seemed amenable to making a deal without the border wall funding. But, somehow, his administration decided to announce the bump stock ban and I think he was gobsmacked at the lack of support for his plan to pull out of Syria. This, in my view, isn’t terribly serious but is a way to change the conversation from “he folded like a cheap suit” to “he fights.” And there is this:

BREAKING HERE: the Wall for the Gateway Tunnel? Top source tells key group of House Repubs want GOP to make offer to Dems – they agree to wall money and WH/GOP funds Gateway. (Key project for Schumer and Dems in New York.)

Obviously v v fluid now, but this is serious idea.

— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) December 20, 2018

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