Georgia Senator David Perdue told the media that President Trump is looking for a “simple” border deal in order to keep the government open after its latest funding expires.
A simple man, a simple deal
With the government reopened thanks to a short-term spending plan, the race is on to procure another spending bill to keep the government open past the three-week deadline that ends on February 15th.
During the shutdown, there was talk among a group of bipartisan senators over a big immigration reform package that would include, presumably, border-wall funding, in addition to granting amnesty or some kind of legal protection to those who are here illegally. (RELATED: GOP Senators Pitch Mega Immigration Deal To End Prolonged Government Shutdown.) That deal ended up being a no-go for Trump. At one point, the White House was considering offering legal protection for so-called DACA recipients. (RELATED: Trump Allies Propose DACA Amnesty in Exchange for Border Wall.) However, Democrats didn’t bite on the deal.
Trump relented, in the end, by agreeing to a short-term spending bill to pay government workers while Congress works out its own deal. (RELATED: Drudge Report Says a Shutdown Agreement Has Been Reached.)
Congress gets its marching orders on the wall
President Trump has let his wishes be known to Republican senators in what he’s willing to accept when it comes to border security. From The Washington Post: “President Trump signaled to a GOP senator over the weekend that he is searching for a “simple” border wall deal in advance of the new funding deadline next month — casting more doubt on the prospects of a broader immigration deal before portions of the government shut down again.”
The senator Trump spoke to is David Perdue of Georgia. Sen. Perdue relayed Trump’s message to the Post, saying, “He wants as simple of a solution as we can get.”
Some news –> Perdue met Trump privately for lunch at the White House yesterday (not on his public sked) to begin talking border. “He wants as simple of a solution as we can get,” Perdue tells me, meaning no broader immigration deal https://t.co/V0NTKSTlWn
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) January 28, 2019
If there’s no deal, Trump will act
Perdue confirmed that if Congress comes up empty-handed with wall funding, Trump’s willing to act. “At the end of the day, if in three weeks [there is no resolution], this president’s ready to move,” he told the Post.
The implication, of course, is that Trump would declare a national emergency and build the wall unilaterally. (RELATED: Trump Prepares National Emergency Declaration As Pelosi Rejects Another Shutdown Compromise.)
Trump’s smart enough to know that wrangling a big immigration package out of Congress that has everything he wants is not realistic in the short timeline allotted. He’s going to shoot for the straight and narrow: wall funding with a small concession to Democrats.
The question is: What are Democrats willing to accept to come around on the wall? It’s still unclear at this point as it becomes more and more clear that Democrats are only looking for a political victory in this fight, and not something good for the country.
