My surprise, etc. —

House GOP cuts border funding bill

House Republicans will unveil a significantly pared-back emergency funding package of $659 million for the border crisis and are angling for a Thursday vote before Congress flees Washington for the August recess.

That figure is dramatically lower than the $3.7 billion that President Barack Obama originally requested from Capitol Hill to respond to the influx of unaccompanied children, primarily from Central America, at the Texas border.

It’s also a far cry from the $1.5 billion in emergency funding that was initially proposed last week by House Republicans.