Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer talks with communications director Matt House following weekly policy luncheon at Capitol yesterday. Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
It seems increasingly likely that a debt-ceiling increase will be attached to a budget deal that Senate negotiators from both sides hope to announce as soon as today.
The big picture: This means DACA will likely be dealt with — or not — on its own terms and not used as a hostage in a government shutdown stare-down.
- The two-year deal I expect McConnell and Schumer to strike: busting the budget caps on defense and domestic spending, raising the debt limit, plus funding for disaster relief and funding for community health centers.
- Why it matters: That would be a pretty good deal for President Trump. Sure, the fiscal conservatives will hate it, but Trump has never been one of them.
- The deal would expose the gap between Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi: She wanted to hitch the immigration deal to the spending fight, while Schumer appears OK with allowing it to be separate.
How it's playing: WashPost lead story: "Senators say deal on budget is in sight" ... Wall Street Journal A1: "Senators Close In on a Budget Deal."