Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he is pulling a previous deal he offered President Donald Trump last week that would give the president additional border wall funding.
“We’re going to have to start on a new basis and the wall offer is off the table,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday.
The Senate went into near crisis mode late Friday evening after Senate Democrats shut down the government in an effort to get Republican leadership to cave and include legal protections for DREAMers and members of their families into a bill to keep the government funded. (RELATED: Watch Illegal Immigrants Rage At The Capitol)
House and Senate lawmakers were able to come to an agreement on a short-term spending bill that will keep the government open through Feb. 8 and will provide a six-year funding extension of a highly popular children’s health program. Trump signed the bill into law Monday evening.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to shepherd Senate negotiations over a legislative fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival’s program. That promise, according to Democratic Senate leadership, is what helped rally Democrats behind the must-pass spending bill.
Schumer says he timidly offered Republicans and Trump more border wall funding before the government shutdown, but Trump wasn’t willing to accept his offer. The minority leader initially offered the president $1.6 billion for the construction of a border wall, that is roughly $16 billion short of what the administration is asking.
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