Senate DACA deal picks up GOP supporters

A bipartisan immigration agreement is picking up the support of several additional GOP senators despite opposition from President Trump and the White House.

Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) office announced that GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mike Rounds (S.D.) are signing onto the forthcoming legislation.

That brings the total number of Republican lawmakers officially backing the bill up to seven, including Graham and GOP Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Cory Gardner (Colo.)—who were part of the original "Gang of Six."



“I’m very pleased that our bipartisan proposal continues to gain support among my Republican colleagues. Our hope is to bring forward a proposal that leads to a solution the president can embrace," Graham said in a statement.

But the legislation faces an uphill climb in the Senate where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has conditioned an immigration deal getting a floor vote on Trump supporting it.

“I'm looking for something that President Trump supports, and he has not yet indicated what measure he is willing to sign,” McConnell told reporters Wednesday. “As soon as we figure out what he is for, then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels.”

Trump has lambasted the Senate group's bill, which is expected to be formally announced this week.

He told Reuters on Wednesday that the proposal is “horrible” on border security and “very, very weak” on reforms to the legal immigration system.

In addition to Trump's support, any Senate bill will likely need 60 votes to end a filibuster.

If Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Robert Menendez (N.J.) and Michael Bennet (Colo.) - the other members of the "Gang of Six" - can win over every member of the 49-member caucus that means they will need the support from a total of 11 GOP senators.

And two of the four GOP senators who are signing on are also making it clear that they are open to other immigration proposals. Congressional leadership continues to hold separate negotiations.
Alexander added on Wednesday that Graham's proposal is a "starting point for reaching consensus and will support other responsible proposals.”

Rounds echoed that, calling the Graham-Durbin proposal an "important first step."

"While this bill is not perfect, I will continue to work on a product that includes appropriate e-verify provisions, a stronger border security system and lays the framework for more reform, including work visas. These are the provisions required for me to support the bill in final form so we can get to the next phase," he said.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, reiterated on Wednesday that the Graham-Durbin bill will not be the "template" for a final deal.

"The longer we keep kicking that dead horse the longer we're ... going to delay getting to a real solution," he told reporters.

Cornyn, Durbin and Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with White House chief of staff John Kelly on Wednesday. The four lawmakers are expected to meet again on Thursday.

GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and James Lankford (Okla.), who have offered their own immigration plan, also came out against the "Gang of Six" bill on Wednesday evening.

"As we have said from the beginning, any successful deal also needs buy-in from the White House. Unfortunately, the ‘Gang of Six’ proposal falls short since it fails to include even basic border security reforms," they said in a joint statement.

The two GOP senators added that "we still believe that we’re closer to a deal than we’ve ever been, and we are ready to work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, to get this done."

Durbin on Wednesday appeared optimistic that every Democrat will ultimately support his legislation, despite pushback from progressives who feel like the deal goes too far.

The bill would pair a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that includes a pathway to citizenship, which the Trump administration announced it was ending last year, with a border security package, an elimination of the Diversity Visa Lottery and changes to family-based immigration.

According to a fact sheet on the forthcoming legislation, it would include more than $2.7 billion on border security and reallocate half of the diverse lottery visages to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients. It would give half to individuals from underrepresented "priority countries."

Link: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3...gop-supporters

But is it going to be introduced ?

Not without Pope Trump blessing it.

I know for a fact that Orrin Hatch would vote for this bill, he unfortunately won't endorse it.

Rounds (R-SD) was surprising LOL....

My prediction:
Murkowski, Flake, Graham, Collins, McCain, Gardner, Hoeven, Heller, Alexander, Corker, Hatch, Rounds,

From your lips to Trump's ears

But, what about the HOUSE?

They need to do like Tax bill, do it over night.

20 Republicans introduced the USA Act. I would say those 20 would vote for this bill too.

It will pass if only put to vote