As a deadline from Republican state attorneys general approached, President Donald Trump last week asked White House aides for a “way out” of his campaign pledge to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the exchange.
Searching for a way to end DACA to satisfy his base while still ensuring that DREAMers would be protected, Trump and his aides reportedly landed on a proposal to end DACA with a six month delay. The postponed implementation would theoretically allow Congress to pass legislation restoring DACA’s policies.
Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, spoke with Republican lawmakers and devised the six month delay, three officials familiar with the situation told the New York Times. Kelly was also motivated to find a way to keep DACA following reports that DREAMers helped with Hurricane Harvey recovery, per the New York Times.
The President faced pressure from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and senior adviser Stephen Miller, both immigration hard-liners to end DACA, according to the New York Times and Buzzfeed News. Those who had advocated for maintaining DACA, like former chief of staff Reince Priebus, have left the administration, Buzzfeed News noted. Economic adviser Gary Cohn also urged Trump to keep DACA, the Times reported, but Cohn is not currently in the President’s good graces.
Trump will not announce the decision himself, instead leaving the announcement to Sessions. The attorney general is set to announce the policy change Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Jesus, you shuffle your feet, don’t bring it up ever again, and tell assholes like Sessions that they are free to resign if they don’t like it…
That was your way out… you ignore it, like all other presidents have done with unworkable or deeply unpopular campaign pledges… you pretend you never made it, you spectacularly incompetent dipshit.
I call bullshit on all these stories, with just one caveat.
The lawsuit that was being brought by the states actually has a pretty decent chance of being successful and forcing the WH’s hand here.
But I honestly have a hard time believing that factors into the decision making process on this at all.
A far more likely scenario is Trump is growing increasingly worried about the investigations into him and his family, and is looking to build up support with his core base ahead of the inevitable rain of boots from the sky that is coming.
But the strategy of waiting 6 months to let Congress craft a DACA legislative solution? That ain’t going to happen. They have been tossing that potato around for 16 years.
Yeah I don’t get why he didn’t do what he usually does act like he didn’t say it and claim it was all fake news
Trump will not announce the decision himself, instead leaving the announcement to Sessions. Typical, gutless, duplicitous behavior from the coward in chief. And pretending to wait 6 months to give Congress a chance to act is a sham. Congress has too many other things on its plate right now to deal with DACA and Trump has not indicated that he will sign a law authorizing DACA if it comes to his desk. I suspect he will eventually try to use DACA as leverage with the Democrats to either end the ACA of fund the border wall, or both.
There are binders full of campaign promises Trump and the GOP would like to go away.