Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), speaking on the Senate floor Thursday after two government funding bills failed to gain sufficient support, relayed new demands from President Donald Trump regarding a potential bipartisan effort to temporarily fund the government.
“I just got off the phone with the President,” the senator said at the top of his remarks.
Graham said he’d told the President that senators had been “talking about a three-week CR [continuing resolution] to fund the government” and suggested Trump would be open to a compromise.
While it was unclear if he was speaking for himself or Trump, Graham said “the TPS [Temporary Protected Status] language that was sent over by the President has moved forward but it is unacceptable to my Democratic colleagues.” Trump, via Senate Republicans, proposed hugely consequential changes to the Temporary Protected Status program, and the administration has previously attempted to end TPS for hundreds of thousands of people living with legal status in the United States.
“It needs to be like what Tim Kaine did,” Graham said. Kaine has called for a path to apply for legal permanent residency for qualified TPS recipients.
Graham continued: “The DACA provision sent over by the President is moving forward, but it needs to be what Sen. Durbin did.”
Durbin has long pushed the Bridge Act, a temporary extension of sorts for DACA-eligible young people who meet certain qualifications. Republicans’ proposal was an even more limited version of that legislation. The Trump administration has attempted to end DACA altogether, though courts stepped in and the move has been temporarily blocked.
Graham also said Trump would still demand funding for a border wall.
“Money for a barrier is required to get this deal done. It will not be a concrete wall, and the money will be programmed to a DHS plan that all of you know about and have been briefed on and should approve,” he said. “You’re not giving President Trump a bunch of money to do anything he wants to with. He’s got to spend it on a plan that the professionals have come up with.”
In a statement issued shortly after his floor speech, Graham said:
“The way forward is clear to me: a three-week continuing resolution (CR) that includes a down payment on wall/barrier funding and priorities of Democrats for disaster relief, showing good faith from both sides. I strongly urge my Democratic colleagues to work with the White House on a three-week CR that includes a down payment on wall/barrier funding consistent with DHS priorities.”
Graham: "I just got off the phone with the President…" pic.twitter.com/JjHylRuKAF
— Matt Shuham (@mattshuham) January 24, 2019
