Jan 11, 2018 - Politics & Policy

White House, GOP leadership not sold on bipartisan immigration deal

Zachary Basu

Photo: Matt McClain / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Sen. Jeff Flake says a bipartisan group of senators has reached a deal on an immigration bill that includes a replacement for DACA, NBC News reports.

"We've got this bipartisan group, we're at a deal. So we'll be talking to the White House about that and I hope we can move forward with it, it's the only game in town. There's no other bill."

Reality check: As Axios' Jonathan Swan points out, we don’t know where Trump is on this, and Flake could not be a worse messenger to sell the deal to POTUS. Another reason for caution — immigration hardliner Sen. Tom Cotton has said it's a "joke of a proposal," per NBC News' Frank Thorp.

The senators involved in the deal, per Politico: Democrats Durbin, Bennet and Menendez, and Republicans Flake, Graham and Gardner.

From Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: "There has not been a deal reached yet however we still think we can get there."

From majority whip John Cornyn: "I think it's a good idea for them to share that with everybody else. My job is to count the votes, and I think until people are comfortable with the product, they're not gonna commit to voting for it, and that's what I think our goal should be, is to get it passed. So I welcome their contribution, but it's not gonna be something that's agreed to by just a handful of people."

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White House, GOP leadership not sold on bipartisan immigration deal

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