Trump's budget chief says money for border wall a must

Washington: The White House budget director said money for the wall President Donald Trump wants to builda long the US border with Mexico must be part of the massive spending bill Congress is preparing.

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

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 for Veterans Affairs.

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