A group of moderate Democrats is pushing for Nancy Pelosi to cut a deal with President Trump and end the government shutdown.
Centrist Democrats speak out
In a letter obtained by Politico, a group of moderate Democrats is pressing Pelosi to finally come to the table with President Trump and offer something – anything! – to try to get the negotiations process going again. The group, which is led by Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, is asking Pelosi to, at the very least, offer a vote on Trump’s border wall.
“We promised our constituents that we would seek bipartisan solutions, and we feel that this proposal would gain bipartisan support and allow a transparent process to evaluate the true needs of border security and provide much-needed reform to our immigration process,” part of the letter reads.
Not the first time Democrats are calling for a deal
This letter is only the latest step in some Democrats becoming frustrated with Pelosi’s style of brinkmanship. Eight Democrats in the House have already voted to not ban wall funding from a recent appropriations bill. (RELATED: Eight House Democrats Break From Pelosi on Wall Funding.) One freshman Democrat, Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, told the Wall Street Journal, “There’s a number of us on the Democratic side who are quite concerned that we’re not working on negotiated positions and taking the bull by the horns and trying to think about what it would look like.” (RELATED: Freshmen Democrats Begin to Turn on Pelosi Over Border Wall Funding.)
Meanwhile, the shutdown continues to drag on with no end in sight. The Senate is set to vote on a pair of bills that could potentially end the shutdown. One would open up the government and provide the full $5.7 billion to fund Trump’s border wall. The other would only open up the government for a few weeks to increase negotiations. (RELATED: Senate Set To Vote On Two Bills Which Could Reopen The Government.)
As Democrats start caving, expect Republicans to join
Some Democrats breaking away from Pelosi’s hard-line stance may seem like good news to President Trump. But he shouldn’t bask in it for too long. Democrats have a lot to gain by resisting the President and depriving him of a political win. That some Democrats are starting to bend means that Republicans are also feeling the heat, and may start acquiescing as well.
Trump should be wary of that.
