President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in Congress reached an agreement to work toward a deal that would protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation in exchange for new border security measures, The Hill reports. Trump discussed the matter during a dinner at the White House with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
However, afterwards, the two sides disputed key details of the proposal, raising questions about whether a deal had actually been reached, The Hill writes. The Democratic leaders said the border-security measures would not include funding for Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We had a very productive meeting at the White House with the president. We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides.” Schumer and Pelosi said in a statement.
Less than an hour later, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders pushed back on Schumer and Pelosi’s account. “While DACA and border security were both discussed, excluding the wall was certainly not agreed to,” Sanders tweeted.
The president has appeared increasingly willing to work with Democrats in recent days after bitterly fighting them during the first seven months of his presidency. He is hoping Schumer and Pelosi can help him deliver the votes for an immigration bill and other legislative priorities this fall, The Hill comments.
The Democratic leaders said they also urged Trump to make some key ObamaCare subsidies permanent. He told a bipartisan group of moderate lawmakers earlier Wednesday that he wants them to find a quick solution for DACA recipients.
“We don’t want to forget DACA. It’s already been a week and a half and people don’t talk about it as much,” Trump noted.
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