A bipartisan group of senators plans to send a letter to President Trump saying that if he agrees to reopen the federal government, they would be willing to negotiate border security with the administration.
The senators want to send the letter as soon as Wednesday, Politico reported, as the shutdown entered its record-breaking 26th day.
But it remains unclear what Trump’s response would be, as he has repeatedly shot down similar efforts as recently as Monday, when he rejected a plan from Sen. Lindsey Graham to reopen the government and continue negotiating over Trump’s long-promised southern border wall.
“We believe that such requests deserve consideration, through regular order, a process we support,” a draft of the letter says.
It asks the president to agree to open the government up for three weeks to allow a debate “to give Congress time to develop and vote on a bipartisan agreement that addresses your request. We commit to working to advance legislation that can pass the Senate with substantial bipartisan support.”
The letter says the group is “committed to resolving our current budget stalemate by strengthening border security and ending the government shutdown,” according to a draft obtained by the website.
It includes an assurance that the administration’s request for $5.7 billion to build a wall between the US and Mexico would be taken up in the relevant congressional committees.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have offered $1.3 billion for border security, but Pelosi has ruled out any funding for Trump’s wall.
During a tense White House meeting last month, Trump said he would be “proud to own” a government shutdown over border security, and that he would not blame the Democrats.
But he quickly changed his tune and has since blamed Democrats despite numerous polls showing that voters blame him and Republican lawmakers.
“It is becoming more and more obvious that the Radical Democrats are a Party of open borders and crime. They want nothing to do with the major Humanitarian Crisis on our Southern Border. #2020!” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
Senators backing the letter include Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Graham of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Rob Portman of Ohio as well as Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Chris Coons of Delaware, Politico reported.
