Iowa Republicans are furious and confused over Trump's reported DACA deal


Shortly after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) dined with President Trump on Wednesday night, the Democratic leaders released a statement saying the group had "agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly." Pelosi and Schumer said the deal would exchange amnesty for border security measures "excluding the wall."
Trump had announced earlier this month he was ending the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, which grants work authorization to immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, after first allowing a six-month reprieve so Congress could attempt to solve the issue with legislation. Several of his biggest supporters were publicly displeased with the idea that Trump had reportedly agreed to protect these illegal immigrants after all — especially if it came at the expense of the ever-touted border wall.
Among them were prominent Iowa Republicans Rep. Steve King and Sen. Chuck Grassley. King in particular has been an ardent defender of Trump's, but on Wednesday lamented that "no promise" the president makes "is credible":
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Grassley, on the other hand, accused the president of having "undercut" the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs:
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that Trump had "certainly not agreed" to ditch the border wall, and Trump himself tweeted Thursday that the wall — now taking the form of "new renovation of old and existing fences" — would "continue to be built."
Meanwhile, other Republicans were not so moved by the Trump-supporting lawmakers' hurt feelings. Kimberly Alters
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
UK-India trade deal: how the social security arrangements will work
The Explainer A National Insurance exemption in the UK-India trade deal is causing concern but should British workers worry?
-
Man arrested after 'suspicious' fires at properties linked to Keir Starmer
Speed Read Prime minister thanks emergency services after fire at his former family home in north London
-
Elon Musk's SpaceX has created a new city in Texas
under the radar Starbase is home to SpaceX's rocket launch site
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'