BORDER/ELECTION/GOP/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers on Friday [6-22-18] to drop their efforts to pass comprehensive immigration legislation until after the November elections, sending mixed signals to his party amid an ongoing crisis over his border policies. Trump, faced with a public outcry over his policy that separated children from their migrant parents at the U.S. border with Mexico, has gone back and forth on ways to solve the country’s immigration problems, which he blames on Democrats. By seeking to keep that blame on the opposition party, he is hoping to galvanize support from his base for midterm elections that could swing the balance of power on Capitol Hill…All 435 House seats and a third of the 100-member Senate will be up for grabs in November. Democrats are hoping discontent with Trump’s policies, including on immigration, will help them pick up the 23 seats needed to recapture a majority in the House. Their task is more daunting in the Senate, where they need to pick up only two seats for a majority but are defending 26 seats to just nine held by Republicans.”
-Doina Chiacu, Richard Cowan, “Trump urges Republican lawmakers to drop immigration bill until election,” Reuters, June 22, 2018 4:18 am