This morning’s lead topic on the Sunday shows is the approach of Shutdown Standoff 2.0 and the politics of immigration that will define it, which means it’s time to check in on the on-again off-again bromance between the president and Lindsey Graham. Two weeks ago Graham was sitting across from POTUS when he made his “sh*thole” comment and informed Graham and Dick Durbin that their compromise plan for DREAMers was far too weak on enforcement. A mopey Graham whined to the media afterward:
“(At a previous meeting) Tuesday, we had a president that I was proud to golf with, call my friend, who understood immigration had to be bipartisan, you had to have border security as essential, you have border security with a wall, but he also understood the idea that we had to do it with compassion. I don’t know where that guy went. I want him back.”
Three days ago Graham got him back. Trump shocked the right by putting a generous amnesty on the table that would include all DACA enrollees *plus* anyone who was eligible to enroll in the program but didn’t. Suddenly Graham was wearing his MAGA hat again:
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 25, 2018
This morning, then, may be a rare instance in which Graham sides with Trump against Democrats on immigration, an issue on which he’s usually allied with Team Blue. Schumer has rejected Trump’s offer due to the limits it would eventually place on chain migration. Is that too far left on open borders even for Graham? He’ll be on “This Week” to talk it over.
Marc Short, Trump’s legislative director, will also appear this morning to talk immigration and the shutdown, sitting down with “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday.” If you’re bored with shutdown shenanigans, though, and would rather zero in on the Devin Nunes memo about FBI abuses instead, you’re in luck: Trey Gowdy, who I believe is the only House Republican to have reviewed the intelligence on which the memo is based, will be on “Fox News Sunday” to discuss its upcoming publication. Gowdy has been outspoken in claiming that what he’s seen is troubling and that the memo will make clear why. He’ll be pressed for details by host Chris Wallace, who seems to think the story is overhyped.
Oh, and Tammy Duckworth will guest on “Face the Nation” as well to discuss what it’s like to be America’s first-ever pregnant senator and to call Trump “Cadet Bone Spurs” again, probably. The full line-up is at the AP.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member