Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that President Trump should insist on $5 billion in border wall funding when he meets with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday.
“If I were the president, I would dig in and not give in on additional wall funding,” Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday on Fox News. “I want the whole $5 billion because the caravan is a game-changer.”
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Trump, Schumer, and Pelosi will meet Tuesday to see if they can work out a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security and other departments for the rest of the fiscal year. But Democrats say they can only give Trump $1.6 billion, and the impasse is threatening a partial government shutdown if they can’t reach a deal in two weeks.
Graham’s suggestion to Trump could create a shutdown scenario, but Graham indicated that’s a risk worth taking because of the threat migrant caravans are posing to the U.S.
“After the caravan, if you don’t see the need for additional border security, you’re just not paying much attention,” he said. “So Mr. President, dig in, do not give in when it comes to the wall.”
The Senate is where the issue has been stuck, since Democrats have enough votes there to block it. Graham said Trump should use his meeting to offer a fix for immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children who participated in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump has since tried to unwind.
“I’d put DACA on the table,” Graham said. “If I were the president, I’d say, I want two years of wall funding, and I’ll give legal status to the DACA recipients. That’s a good deal for the country.”
