If Abbott and Costello were performing in modern-day DC, the bit would probably start something like this. Costello: Who’s paying for the wall? Abbott: Yes. Costello: I mean, the entity’s name that’s playing for the wall. Abbott: Who. And on and on it would go, much like the current debate over who will pay for Trump’s wall (a discussion that has managed to shift the focus away from the broader question: Why do we need a wall in the first place?). And as WaPo reports, the funding game of chicken has higher stakes than ever: “President Trump and White House officials pressed congressional Republicans on Sunday to use the looming threat of a government shutdown to win funding for a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico.”

+ Slate: Trump Insists Mexico Will ‘Eventually … At a Later Date … in Some Form‘ Pay for Wall.