Republicans are now saying that a deal to fund the government might have to move separately from a bill that provides a DACA fix and tightens border security.

Democrats, however, say they extracted a concession from GOP leaders and senior Trump administration officials Wednesday afternoon to keep the spending and immigration talks linked as part of the same bargain.


Now some senior Republicans are floating the possibility that the 2018 spending deal will move separately from immigration legislation.

Government funding runs out on Jan. 19 and Congress has until March 5 to come up with a solution to protect Dreamers from deportation.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.) said Wednesday that he doesn’t think the spending package will include the immigration legislation.

“I think that can be handled it separately,” he said.

Thune said a prospective deal on Dreamers and border security probably won’t be done in time to add to the spending bill.

“I don’t think they’re anywhere close. That’s not ripe yet,” he said of a possible immigration deal.

But Democrats are pushing back hard on the notion that the omnibus spending package will move without a deal on immigration.

Democratic leadership aide said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) agreed in a Wednesday afternoon meeting that the fate of Dreamers will be part of the broader talks on spending.




“The four leaders and White House officials agreed to keep negotiating a bipartisan budget agreement to lift the defense and non-defense caps, a DACA and border agreement, a health care package, as well as a disaster aid bill,” the aide said.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3...spending-talks

Privately , GOP leadership know they’ve lost this one . They just don’t want to upset their base and come out and say it. I believe Democrats are willing to go all in for us this month.

Btw, fuck you Thune !