Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Republicans in Congress “look forward” to receiving the Trump administration’s proposal following talk of a potential deal that would protect DACA recipients in exchange for beefed up border security.
Trump ended the DACA program, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, on Sept. 5. On Wednesday night, he met with Democratic congressional leaders and afterward, both sides spoke of a potential deal to protect young undocumented people whose DACA protections will begin expiring in six months. Trump also said his promised border wall with Mexico would “come later.”
Conservatives, predictably, raged at the news.
McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) weren’t in attendance Wednesday night, but deputy White House press secretary Lindsay Walters said Thursday morning, according to a pool report, that “The President spoke to McConnell and Ryan this morning.” Trump added later to reporters: “Everybody’s on board.”
McConnell implied in a statement that Trump had an obligation to lay out his proposal, so that Congress could move forward while considering his preferences.
“As Congress debates the best ways to address illegal immigration through strong border security and interior enforcement, DACA should be part of those discussions,” McConnell said in the statement. “We look forward to receiving the Trump administration’s legislative proposal as we continue our work on these issues.”
