GOP Sen.: Trump said He’ll Extend DACA Deadline If Congress Does Not Act

U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, talks with the media outside police headquarters in Guthrie, Okla, Friday, July 8, 2016. Lankford visited with police officers during a private meeting. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said Thursday night that President Donald Trump told him he would extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program past March if Congress does not pass legislation restoring the protections by then, according to the Washington Post.

“The president’s comment to me was that, ‘We put a six-month deadline out there. Let’s work it out. If we can’t get it worked out in six months, we’ll give it some more time, but we’ve got to get this worked out legislatively,’” Lankford said at a town hall in Tulsa Thursday night, per the Washington Post.

Trump did not specify how long he would extend the DACA deadline, Lankford said. The President made the comments to Lankford over the phone in September, a spokesman for Lankford told the Washington Post.

When the end to DACA was announced, Trump suggested in a tweet that he could extend the program if Congress fails to act.

The Trump administration announced in September that it would end the DACA program in March and called on Congress to restore the protections through legislation. At first, Trump seemed very willing to work with Democrats on a bill to restore DACA. Following a mid-September meeting with Democratic leaders, Trump said they were “close” to a deal and suggested the bill would not need to include funding for a border wall.

However, chances that Congress would quickly pass a bill to restore DACA dropped this week when the Trump administration issued hard-line demands for any bill protecting young undocumented immigrants. The White House said that any deal should include funding for the border wall and curb legal immigration, demands that Democrats and likely some Republicans will oppose.

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Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for vonq vonq says:

    Liar, liar…Look at ACA.

  2. “The president’s comment to me was that, ‘We put a six-month deadline out there. Let’s work it out. If we can’t get it worked out in six months, we’ll give it some more time, but we’ve got to get this worked out legislatively,’”

    Sarah Sanders’ “President Trump was just joking with Senator Lankford. Congress must act in the 6 month timeline before DACA deportations begin. President Trump takes his responsibilities to the law abiding citizens of this nation very seriously, and so should Congress. A message must be sent to 5-6 and 7 year old children everywhere: ‘Do not blindly follow your parents wherever they go. Check with a lawyer before you agree to cross a national border.’”

  3. Anyone in Congress caught believing anything Trump says about helping the 99 percent should be given 40 lashes, broadcast live.

  4. Avatar for sanni sanni says:

    The president said it, in private, to the senator. And the senator tells a town hall - to convey - what the president says is true? hahahahaha

    How does that work, Senator?

    So is Lankford the dumbass for believing/and or conveying this to his constituents, or is he a cynical smarmy pol who thinks his constituents are dumbasses and will believe that the president a) said it and b) the president’s words mean anything?

  5. Mr. Lankford, anybody that has ever trusted Trump’s word has ended up savagely shafted. Those that had Trumps promises in writing and notarized had to go to court to enforce them. The only ones that have no problem having Trump do as promised are the Russian mafiosi.

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