[naviga:h3]Trump: There could be less border wall[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump doesn’t see the need for a proposed border wall to stretch the length of the roughly 2,000-mile frontier with Mexico.

Instead, he envisions “anywhere from 700 to 900 miles” of see-through wall.

Trump’s comments on the wall are the most definitive description he has given on what became a primary campaign promise. During the campaign he vowed to oversee construction of a “big beautiful wall, with a big beautiful door” to let approved immigrants come into the United States.

But on his way to Paris, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “It’s a 2,000 mile border, but you don’t need 2,000 miles of wall because you have a lot of natural barriers. You have mountains. You have some rivers that are violent and vicious. You have some areas that are so far away that you don’t really have people crossing.”

Trump’s remarks were informal and initially not allowed to be reported. The White House later provided a partial transcript of them.

There are already about 650 miles of fencing along the border, all of which is see-through.

[naviga:h3]Scalise’s condition upgraded Thursday [/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s condition was upgraded to fair after he underwent surgery Thursday to manage a deep tissue infection he developed from his bullet wounds after being shot last month during Republicans’ practice for an annual congressional baseball game.

“He is in fair condition, and will require careful monitoring to see if and when further interventions are necessary,” MedStar Washington Hospital said in a statement Thursday.

Scalise, R-La., had arrived to the hospital in critical condition after the shooting June 14 but was downgraded to serious condition after a few days. He was first listed in fair condition on June 21.

On July 5 the hospital announced he was back in serious condition and readmitted to the intensive care unit amid infection concerns. The next day he underwent a surgery to manage that infection but remained in serious condition.

[naviga:h3]Rep. questions Kushner’s clearance[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduced two amendments on Thursday that would revoke Jared Kushner’s security clearance, after revelations this week that Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser failed to disclose a meeting with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Both amendments failed on a party-line vote after a debate in the House committee that determines federal spending.

“It should concern every American that Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to the president, is reportedly among the main targets of the FBI’s criminal investigation about the now evident collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign in the hostile Russian government during the presidential election,” said Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

Wasserman Schultz’s first amendment would prohibit federal funding for presidential security clearances for someone who is under a criminal investigation.

The second amendment bars funding for security credentials for anyone who “deliberately fails” to disclose a meeting with a foreign national if the disclosure is required for credentialing process.