A bipartisan group of House members will be meeting later today with President Trump to solve the ongoing border security debate and end the government shutdown.
Trump succeeds in getting House Democrats to come to White House
Yesterday, we reported that President Trump attempted to court a select number of House Democrats, inviting them to the White House in a move that would put pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to strike a deal on border security. (RELATED: President Trump Tries to Create Defectors in House Democrat Caucus.)
However, no Democrats who received the invitation agreed to come, scampering Trump’s plan of creating defection in the House Democrat caucus.
Rank-and-file Democrats snub White House invite to meet with Pres. Trump amid government shutdown. https://t.co/54rd2b5FYG pic.twitter.com/w8WxG4ZtAx
— ABC News (@ABC) January 15, 2019
The failure was a sign that Pelosi keeps her caucus on a tight leash. However, some Democrats have voiced support for a border barrier in recent days. (RELATED: Democrats Starting to Ignore Pelosi and Schumer and Embrace Trump’s Border Wall.) And, it appears that perhaps a handful of House Democrats have broken Pelosi’s tight grip, agreeing to meet with the President to discuss an end to the shutdown. A bipartisan group of House members is set to meet with Trump later today in the Situation Room.
Politico reporter Jake Sherman reports:
Members of the PROBLEM SOLVERS CAUCUS off to the White House tomorrow to meet with trump in the situation room.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 15, 2019
Little hope from this meeting
From the Politico Playbook morning briefing: “THE PROBLEM SOLVERS CAUCUS — a bipartisan group of House members — is going to the White House today at 11:30 a.m. for a meeting with PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. They are meeting in the Situation Room, far away from everyone else in the White House. Republicans and Democrats are expected to attend this meeting.”
While attendance will be bipartisan, it’s unlikely this meeting will result in a brokered deal that could end the shutdown. Trump is trying to create dissent among House Democrats, pressuring Pelosi to cut a deal.
Pelosi has so far stood firm. There’s a lot of bad faith going around on both sides during this debate. Trump has wanted a wall all along. Yet congressional Republicans failed to pass one when they controlled Congress. Democrats, for their part, refuse to acknowledge what they want in terms of border security, despite supporting a physical barrier in the past.
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This logjam is going to have to be overcome if there’s ever to be a deal.
