Democrats and Republicans Agree To A Border Deal, Averting Shutdown

Ken AshfordImmigration and Xenophobia, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

The Washington Post has the details:

The framework would provide $1.375 billion for barriers along the border, including 55 miles of new fencing,with certain restrictions on the location, according to a congressional official familiar with the agreement….Democrats backed down from their demand on tight limits on detention beds that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement could use to detain undocumented immigrants, pulling away from a push that that led to a breakdown in talks over the weekend.

To avert a shutdown, the deal needs to be written into final legislation, passed by both the House and Senate, and signed into law by the president.

White House officials were reviewing the terms of the deal, and Shelby said he was hopeful Trump would be supportive. But details of the compromise disclosed late Monday quickly came under fire from conservatives, raising the prospect of a backlash from the right that could ultimately render it unacceptable to Trump.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, a Trump confidant, immediately called the shutdown deal a “garbage compromise.”

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who talks regularly with Trump, said that it fails to address serious threats.

I’m sure there are Democrats unhappy with the deal too. But it will likely pass both houses, and that puts the ball square in Trump’s court. With Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter likely to buck, it remains an open question whether or not Trump will sign it.

But if he doesn’t, and the government shuts down again, this will again be a “Trump shutdown”.

My guess? He will sign it. Trump finds it easier to lie about “successes” than to actually deliver them. Thank God.

UPDATE: Trump is “extremely unhappy” about the deal, but gave no signs as to whether he would sign it or declare an emergency or have a government shutdown.

UPDATE: Ann Coulter weighs in…

“Yellow New Deal” is probably a play on the “Green New Deal” being discussed now, with “yellow” being a reference to Trump’s cowardice. She really knows how to yank his leash.