Senate Republicans said Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer offered $25 billion in funding for a border wall during negotiations with President Trump, but the New York Democrat reportedly rescinded the offer in the wake of the government shutdown.
Sen. David Perdue, Georgia Republican, said it would be difficult for Mr. Schumer to back off the $25 billion figure after putting it on the table.
“He offered $25 billion in the White House the other day,” he told The Washington Times. “I consider that done. The question now is how do you wrap the rest of it around the deal.”
Mr. Schumer reportedly is no longer standing by the offer, Politico reported.
Republicans balked.
“It is a step backwards,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who is spearheading talks on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Obama-era amenity for illegal immigrant Dreamers.
The number is well above the administration’s $18 billion to $20 billion estimate for construction of a wall on the southern border.
The offer from Mr. Schumer during last-minute negotiations Friday failed to strike a deal and avoid a government shutdown. The White House has questioned the nature of the offer, whether it was an appropriation or an authoritarian for future funding that would be in jeopardy of cancellation in later years.
The deal that reopened the government Monday set off a new negotiation on DACA. The White House and Republican lawmakers have demanded that border security, including border wall funding, be part of the negotiations.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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