Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Wednesday he thinks Trump is sincere in his push for a deal that creates certainty for Dreamers, or immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children, despite skepticism from Democrats.
“I can tell you, sincerely, he believes these children need a pathway forward. He’s sympathetic towards that,” Manchin said on CNN.
“My gut tells me the president wants to get this done,” he added.
Sen. Joe Manchin says he and Sen. Doug Jones met with President Trump two days ago on DACA: “I can tell you sincerely he believes these children need a pathway forward … My gut tells me the President wants to get this done” https://t.co/GpheQBtAJ5
— New Day (@NewDay) January 24, 2018
Manchin said his opinion is formed in part by a meeting he had this week with Trump and Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala. He said the two met in Trump’s office during the shutdown that happened after Democrats initially refused to support a government spending bill unless language helping the Dreamers was added to the bill.
Democrats later dropped that demand, and were satisfied by a GOP pledge to hold a vote on some kind of immigration language by Feb. 8, which is when federal spending expires again.
