Centrist Dems urge Pelosi to break shutdown stalemate

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In the letter, centrist House Democrats ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to allow the appropriate panels to consider Trump’s wall request after the government is open. | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Government Shutdown
Centrist Dems urge Pelosi to break shutdown stalemate

A group of House Democrats is drafting a letter to Pelosi asking her to agree to hold a vote on Trump’s wall after the government is reopened.

By RACHAEL BADE and BURGESS EVERETT
01/22/2019 12:45 PM EST
Updated 01/22/2019 01:26 PM EST

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A group of centrist House Democrats, eager to end the shutdown and sick of political posturing, is pressing Speaker Nancy Pelosi to counter President Donald Trump’s immigration proposal with her own potential compromise.
The group, led by Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, is asking the California Democrat to offer Trump a vote on his border wall sometime in February if he signs a bill reopening the federal government, according to a draft copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO.



“We understand that this shutdown was not caused by the 116th Congress, but it is our job to fix it,” the letter reads, detailing the hit the shutdown has had on federal workers as well as the economy.
Trump has already panned a similar idea proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of his top allies in the upper chamber. However, the letter, being circulated among some lawmakers from red or swing districts, illustrates the pressure they are under to end the shutdown.
Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have vowed not to negotiate on Trump’s border wall with Mexico until the president reopens the government but that afterward they are open to talks. They’ve contended that doing so would reward “bad behavior” or “hostage taking.“


Looking to force Democrats to come to the table, Trump over the weekend proposed coupling border wall money with three years of deportation relief for young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers as well as a reprieve for immigrants who came to the U.S. from war torn nations.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (r-Ky.) is preparing to bring up Trump’s offer later this week in the face of a near-certain filibuster from Democrats.
“It’s a strong proposal. It’s the only thing on the table,” said McConnell on Tuesday. The Democratic House has also passed measures to reopen the government, but McConnell has declined to bring them up because Trump opposes them.
Democratic leaders immediately rejected the offer, but rank-and-file Democrats may feel compelled to respond with a counter-proposal.
Meanwhile, furloughed federal workers are facing a second missed paycheck on Friday. Some have struggled to pay their rent or their mortgages; others, including 10 percent of TSA agents this weekend, are calling in sick citing an inability to work for free.
The standoff reached its 32nd day on the anniversary of the last shutdown, when Democrats refused to vote for funding bills until Dreamers were protected from deportation. At the time, the GOP resisted. Now it’s Republicans who are imploring their counterparts to negotiate on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals with Democrats rebuffing them.
DACA also was on firmer ground Tuesday, after the Supreme Court appeared to reject Trump’s request for a quick decision on the program’s fate. Trump’s move to end DACA in 2017 was blocked by the lower courts and despite a push by the administration to resolve the issue, the Supreme Court signaled it was not likely to address it this term.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/...utdown-1118986

Here come the Democrats... so much for the Trump supporter theory that Trump just offered the Democrats Amnesty for illegals because he knew they would not accept it in his 6 dimension chess game!