Democrats rejected Trump's latest reported shutdown offer before it was even announced, calling it 'unacceptable'
- President Donald Trump was expected to offer protection for so-called Dreamers, who are undocumented immigrants brought to the United States when they were children, as well as other groups of immigrants, in exchange for funding for his border wall in an address at 4 pm.
- Democrats appear to have already rejected the offer, however, with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois saying "I cannot support the proposed offer as reported and do not believe it can pass the Senate."
- A Democratic aide told Axios that "Dems were not consulted on this and have rejected similar overtures previously."
Democrats are preemptively rejecting President Donald Trump's latest proposal to re-open the government.
Trump, who shut down the government to pressure Congress to approve funding for a $5.7 billion border wall, is expected to offer Democrats temporary protection for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers, as well as extending the legal status of immigrants with "Temporary Protected Status" in an address at 4 pm.
Democrats have begun pushing back against this offer already though, publicly and through leaked comments to the media. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat that has been at the forefront of the immigration debate in Congress, posted a statement stating that he does not support the offer as it has been reported and does not think it would pass the Senate.
.@SenatorDurbin’s out against Trump’s reported plan, too, per statement : pic.twitter.com/Xs3WIqtKjQ
— Eli Yokley (@eyokley) January 19, 2019
Democratic aides told Axios that party leaders were not consulted over the offer and "have rejected similar overtures previously."
"This is not a compromise as it includes the same wasteful, ineffective $5.7 billion wall demand that shut down the government in the first place," a Democratic House aide told Axios.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal similarly rejected the proposal, writing on Twitter, "this Trump con will fool few Americans.
More fake promises raising false hopes—this Trump con will fool few Americans. It is not serious or credible as a dreamer remedy. First & foremost: Reopen the government. https://t.co/3HLo4VzN3V
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) January 19, 2019
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also rejected the idea, saying "Unfortunately, initial reports make clear that his proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives."
READ MORE: Trump's State of the Union — whenever it is — won't bail him out of this government-shutdown mess
On the Republican side of the aisle, the reported offer has drawn mixed reviews. Rep. Steve King, who has been stripped of committee assignments thanks to racist comments he made in a New York Times interview, tweeted that he was against any kind of deal that gives amnesty to undocumented immigrants currently in the country.
Sen. Marco Rubio, however, tweeted his support for the deal, saying the shutdown "can only end through mutual concessions that lead to an agreement."
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