Trump shutdown announcement: Democrats reject president's Daca compromise on border security and immigration
'Not a compromise, more hostage taking,' says Chuck Schumer
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Donald Trump's attempt to strike a deal with Democrats and reopen the federal government appears to have failed, after the terms of his offer were firmly rejected.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer both dismissed the president's compromise, which was unveiled during a live television address.
In a relatively diplomatic address the president offered extensions to protections for certain undocumented immigrants in exchange for $5.7bn (£4.4bn) to go towards his proposed border wall along the US-Mexico border. "Rank and file" Democrats had contributed to the plan, he said, adding that it was aimed at alleviating a "humanitarian crisis".
Mr Trump has been in a standoff with Democrats in Congress for the past 29 days after he refused to sign a government funding bill without the money. The federal government has been partially shut down throughout this period.
Ms Pelosi lambasted the president's offer in a statement released before Mr Trump spoke. "Initial reports make clear that is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives," she said.
Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall – in pictures
Show all 15"It is unlikely that any of these provisions alone would pass the House and taken together, they are a non-starter."
In the latest instance of political brinkmanship over the shutdown, Ms Pelosi cancelled her plans to travel by commercial plane to visit US troops in Afghanistan, saying the president had caused a security risk by talking about the trip.
Mr Schumer also rejected Mr Trump's proposal.
"It was the president who single-handedly took away DACA and TPS protections in the first place—offering some protections back in exchange for the wall is not a compromise but more hostage taking," he said.
Around 800,000 federal employees are on leave or working without pay since the shutdown began and nine of the 15 cabinet-level departments have not been funded in almost a month.
The long shutdown may be hitting home for the president. Just 21 of the roughly 80 people who tend to his needs at the White House – from butlers to electricians to chefs – are reporting to work. The rest have been placed on leave.
See below how we covered this story live:
The president does appear to be sticking to a pre-prepared script here, which those familiar with his public addresses will know is relatively rare. Even when he does so, he rarely resists the temptation to add his own embellishments once he's finished the scripted passages.
Donald Trump says he plans to host weekly bipartisan meetings to deal with “that elusive immigration problem” if Democrats pass the proposal he’s offering.
The president has concluded his statement, walking away from the podium and ignoring questions from reporters.
Here's more on the president's proposal to extend Daca and TPS protections in exchange for border wall funding:
It already appears the president's compromise isn't likely to pass the US House of Representatives, as Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi says the proposal does not have her party's support.
Democrats have previously offered $1.6bn to go towards beefing up border security across the nation’s southern border — part of that including fencing — though that proposal stopped short of fulfilling the president’s demands of a sprawling, 30-foot-high structure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has released the following statement: “Everyone has made their point — now it’s time to make a law.”
“I intend to move to this legislation this week,” he continued.
The senator has previously blocked a series of bills that would have reopened the partially-closed federal government, including major legislation that would have fully reopened the government and received virtually unanimous support among lawmakers.
The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed its opposition to the president’s compromise to reopen the federal government.
The civil rights group wrote the following on Twitter shortly after the president’s announcement: “You don’t get a ‘get out of a shutdown for free’ card by offering such tepid fixes for Dreamers and TPS recipients.
Republican Senator Cory Gardner released the following statement in support of the president’s proposal:
“The government must be reopened. This proposal recognizes that need and is an offshoot of earlier efforts to tie border security funding to immigration reform, but on a smaller scale for both.”
“This is a reasonable proposal,” the senator wrote. “No one gets everything they want. No one gets as much as they wanted. More than anything, though, this proposal does open the government and boost border security.”
You can watch the president's remarks in full via the livestream recorded below and shared by the White House:
House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi has shared the following message after Donald Trump released his proposal to reopen the federal government:
“Democrats were hopeful that the president was finally willing to re-open the government and proceed with a much-needed discussion to protect the border,” she said. “Unfortunately, initial reports make clear that his proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives.”
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