The Senate adjourned on Sunday night with no deal to end the government, but the deal that McConnell has offered Democrats is on a promise of a DACA vote by February 8, McConnell made the same promise in December and broke it.
Here is what McConnell offered:
NEW: McConnell says if the government is funded through Feb. 8 under the new CR and there's no immigration action by then, "it would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security, and related issues."
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 22, 2018
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So McConnell’s “intention†to proceed to immigration by 2/8 is hardly an ironclad promise. And House Republicans made clear they wouldn’t be bound by such a commitment anyway. But is it enough to get to 60 votes to end the shutdown tomorrow?
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 22, 2018
“My intention” means that Mitch McConnell will pinky swear to hold a vote. There will be nothing in writing, no legislation, and nothing to protect the Dreamers.
Brian Fallon who is a CNN contributor and former spokesperson for the Hillary Clinton campaign summed up why this is a bad deal:
McConnell is saying if Dems agree to a stopgap measure lasting til Feb 8, he will promise a vote on DACA by then.
He said the same thing in December, and broke his promise.
Democrats would be suckers to believe him again.— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) January 22, 2018
McConnell offered Democrats a horrible deal
Democrats would come away from this deal with nothing but a promise, maybe, of a future vote. While Democrats wouldn’t be giving all of their leverage, because the deal only goes for three weeks, it would stop the Democratic momentum and set this stage for this drama beginning all over again.
Democrats get nothing right now.
Senate Democrats can do better. They need to hold out and demand passage of legislation to protect the Dreamers, not a promise of an immigration vote-a-rama, but a vote on a DACA bill that has bipartisan support.
The Senate will vote on cloture at noon on Monday.
If you want to make sure that Democrats vote no, call your Senator, or any Democratic Senator who could be a yes vote. Democrats need to put an end to this shutdown drama now, and they can do so with one epic stand forcing Congressional Republicans and Trump to either protect the Dreamers or keep the government shut down. Now is not the time to be accepting bad deals and playing the long game. Now is the time to hold your ground and fight to win.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
