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babylonsister

(170,962 posts)
Wed Sep 6, 2017, 03:39 PM Sep 2017

Trump's Early Christmas Gift to Democrats



Trump's Early Christmas Gift to Democrats

In a surprise blow to GOP leaders, the president strikes a short-term fiscal deal with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, handing them leverage ahead of the next round of negotiations in December.

Russell Berman
3:05 PM ET Politics



Paul and Mitch, take a seat: President Trump’s new best friends in Congress are Nancy and Chuck.

In a surprising blow to his own party’s congressional leadership, the president on Wednesday struck a deal with Democrats to package nearly $8 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief with a three-month extension of government funding and increase in the debt ceiling. Trump agreed to the request by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer over the objections of Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had wanted a longer increase in the debt ceiling to prevent Republicans from having to take multiple, politically painful votes to raise it in the coming months.

“We essentially came to a deal, and I think the deal will be very good,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One after meeting with the top four congressional leaders at the White House. In a sign of how the meeting went, he praised the two Democrats he had until recently called “obstructionists,” and he neglected to mention Ryan and McConnell at all.

Trump even held out the possibility of giving Democrats a much bigger prize in future negotiations: a permanent legislative fix for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children who were protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which he announced would be winding down. “Chuck and Nancy would like to see something happen, and so do I,” the president said.

With Trump’s acquiescence to the Democrats’ fiscal demands, their chances of winning a DACA fix have also improved. Schumer and Pelosi specifically wanted only a short-term increase in the debt ceiling because it gives Democrats additional leverage to demand concessions during the next round of spending fights in December, when Congress will be under pressure to make a big year-end agreement before lawmakers go home for the holidays. Republicans know they can’t pass an increase in the debt ceiling without Democratic votes, and the more frequently they have to do it, the more bargaining power Pelosi and Schumer have.

“Both sides have every intention of avoiding default in December and look forward to working together on the many issues before us,” the two Democrats said in a joint statement after the White House meeting. Then they hinted that a DACA fix was next on their list of priorities: “As Democratic leaders, we also made it clear that we strongly believe the DREAM Act must come to the floor and pass as soon as possible and we will not rest until we get this done.”


more...

https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/539022/
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Trump's Early Christmas Gift to Democrats (Original Post) babylonsister Sep 2017 OP
Pleased to meet you. Hope you guess my name* Achilleaze Sep 2017 #1
Art of the Deal with a capital D. TeamPooka Sep 2017 #2
Irma relief for marafugginglargo - coming to a pos in the wh very soon....eom asiliveandbreathe Sep 2017 #3
This must be what that photo of Schumer and trump was about. n/t monmouth4 Sep 2017 #4
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