IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is refusing to budge from his immigration framework, and he and his allies on Capitol Hill are laying the groundwork to heap the blame on Democrats if the Senate fails to reach a deal this week.
In Trump’s view, according to administration officials and GOP senators, he’s already compromised beyond where he and his staff felt comfortable by offering 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. And if Democrats want to step up this week and sink the president’s proposal, that will be on them, they said… But there’s no way at least nine Democrats will support the president’s proposal without major alterations, said a senior Democratic aide. The changes would have to include dropping Trump’s proposed reforms to legal immigration, such as eliminating the diversity lottery program and minimizing new restrictions to family-based migration.
Trump and many Senate Republicans are not giving up on those plans, Republican senators said… The standoff means the Senate’s immigration debate is likely destined for failure absent a course correction from Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Such a result would be a major blow to Dreamers facing the threat of deportation as well as the institution, where dozens of senators in both parties are searching for a bipartisan solution.”
-Burgess Everett, “Trump readies blame game if Senate fails on DACA,” Politico, Feb. 14, 2018 05:01am