The Los Angeles Times reports that DACA recipients “temporarily” blocked the entrance to Disneyland, meaning until the police showed up, demanding a “clean DACA bill.” Some of the protesters held up signs reading, “No dream, no deal.”
Three thousand miles away, beleaguered Sen. Chuck Schumer announced that he was withdrawing his offer to fund the border wall, which may lead Republicans to develop a slogan of their own reading, “No wall, no deal.”
As for Schumer’s announcement, it is curious insofar as he never actually made an offer to fund the wall, despite having told the Senate:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
In exchange for strong DACA protections, I reluctantly put the border wall on the table for discussion. Even that was not enough to entice the President to finish the deal.
In truth, he had offered nothing more than to discuss the funding of the wall at some point in exchange for immediate action to legitimize DACA recipients.
The New York Times corroborated what Schumer offered:
The White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, was there, as was Mr. Schumer’s chief of staff, Mike Lynch.
… [A]n outline of an agreement was struck, according to one person familiar with the discussion: Mr. Schumer said yes to higher levels for military spending and discussed the possibility of fully funding the president’s wall on the southern border with Mexico. In exchange, the president agreed to support legalizing young immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
Mr. Schumer left the White House believing he had persuaded the president to support a short, three to four-day spending extension to finalize an agreement. [Emphasis added]
So did The Hill:
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said early Saturday that he agreed to discuss the U.S.-Mexico border wall as part of negotiations with President Trump, but wasn’t able to win him over.
“During the meeting, in exchange for strong [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] protections, I reluctantly put the border wall on the table for the discussion. Even that was not enough to entice the president to finish the deal,” Schumer said from the Senate floor. [Emphasis added]
Apparently, Schumer is taking off the table the funding offer he never made. Politico is reporting:
The Senate minority leader, through an aide, informed the White House on Monday that he was retracting the offer he made last week to give Trump well north of the $1.6 billion in wall funding Trump had asked for this year, according to two Democrats. And now they say Trump will simply not get a better deal than that on his signature campaign promise.
Schumer “took it off,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat. “He called the White House yesterday and said it’s over.”
Cross posted at The Lid
