Sen. John N. Kennedy said Friday that President Trump needs to lay out exactly what he wants to see in an immigration bill after rejecting the bipartisan agreement reached last week.
“The president changed his mind on immigration. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Mr. Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, said on CNN. “I respectfully ask him to please put on the table exactly what he would accept.”
Mr. Kennedy said he would like to see a bill go through regular order and allow both sides of the aisle to propose amendments, and put them up for a debate. He said he thinks Mr. Trump may be willing to extend the deadline on Dreamers — children brought to the U.S. illegally — if Congress requested more time to come to a comprehensive agreement. The current deadline is set for March 5.
The issue of Dreamers has left Congress on the verge of a shutdown Friday as Democrats fight to put language protecting the group in the funding bill. Some Republicans have pushed back on this idea, arguing it should be a separate issue, while other Republicans say they don’t want to pass a short-term spending bill again.
The deadline to pass some form of a budget or funding measure is midnight Friday.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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