Trump says deal with Democrats to avert shutdown is close

President Trump said the White House was moving toward a deal with Senate Democrats that could avert a partial government shutdown by splitting off a contentious bill providing money for immigration enforcement from a broader $1.3 trillion funding package.

“Hopefully we won’t have a shutdown. We’re working on that right now. I think we’re getting close. The Democrats, I don’t believe want to see it either. So we’ll work in a very bipartisan way, I believe, not to have a shutdown,” Trump said Thursday at a cabinet meeting at the White House.

A source familiar with the discussions said that Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are working together toward a deal to separate DHS funding from five other House-passed appropriations bills in hopes of avoiding a partial government shutdown this weekend. 

Schumer and Senate Democrats are demanding that the pending DHS funding bill be pulled out of the six-bill appropriations package. Shortly after Trump’s remarks, Senate Democrats and a few Republicans blocked a major government funding package that needs to pass by 11:59 p.m. Friday to avoid a government shutdown, signaling that negotiations between Trump and Senate Democrats still have a way to go before reaching a deal.

The Democratic leader wants to pass a short-term extension of funding for the agency to give Congress time to negotiate and pass legislation to overhaul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection to “rein in ICE and the violence.”

“This is not border security, this is not law and order, this is chaos — created at the top and felt in so many of our neighborhoods,” Schumer said Wednesday at a press conference.

Whether a deal between the President and Senate Democrats is actually close remains to be seen. The two sides might have agreed to talk, or agreed to an outline of a possible deal, but that is far from an actual deal to avert a government shutdown.

With tensions high in recent weeks, both sides will be feeling pressure from their base to not be seen to have caved.