White House Legislative Director Marc Short said Monday that President Trump wants a solution to the issue of Dreamers, but said he does not want it attached to the spending bill.
“If you look back through what Leader Schumer and Leader Pelosi have said in the past is that they argued that we should not be tying policy riders onto end of year spending bills,” Mr. Short said on Fox News referring to Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Democrats in Congress have said they want to see a resolution for DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, recipients prior to the end of the year. The Obama-era policy allowed children brought to the U.S. illegally to remain in the country.
Mr. Trump said in September that the policy would be discontinued after six months, but he urged Congress to find a solution to the situation rather than a executive order.
“The president is also interested in finding a resolution to DACA, and he has said that, but he believes that [it] should not be tied to a spending bill where basically you’re holding the funding of our government hostage,” Mr. Short explained.
Congressional leaders are working on a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 8 and avoid a shutdown. The bill would fund the government until Dec. 22, requiring another measure to stay open until January.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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