President Donald Trump again stated his demand for wall funding in return for a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] deal with Democrats.
“I’d love to do a DACA deal,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for Dallas, Texas. “But we have to get something very substantial for it, including the wall, including security, including a strong border.”
In recent weeks, the president has appeared to walk back reports that he agreed to a DACA deal with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, after his reported remarks threw his base into an uproar.
“We need a wall in this country. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it,” Trump said during a press conference with Mitch McConnell last week when asked about DACA. “We need a wall, and that will be part of it.”
The White House has since released a wish list of demands on border funding or border security that Democrats have declared “anathema.”
Speaker Paul Ryan has told conservatives that a DACA deal will likely be included in an end-of-the-year spending deal, together with money for “border security.”