Trump defiant as deadlines loom on budget, immigration

Bitterly divided US lawmakers faced a shrinking window Monday to reach elusive deals on immigration and federal spending, as President Donald Trump complained he is getting zero cooperation from Democrats. Trump vowed during his State of the Union address last week to "extend an open hand" to both parties in pursuing an immigration deal that shields 1.8 million undocumented migrants from deportation -- in exchange for curbs on legal immigration. But his proposal has been savaged by Democrats, and Trump's "open hand" was soon wagging an accusatory finger at an opposition he accuses of refusing to help replace the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) before a March deadline. "Any deal on DACA that does not include STRONG border security and the desperately needed WALL is a total waste of time," Trump tweeted Monday, referring to his long-sought wall on the US border with Mexico. "March 5th is rapidly approaching and the Dems seem not to care about DACA. Make a deal!" Congress has also been haggling over spending caps for domestic programs and the military, as lawmakers seek to finalize a budget for the remainder of 2018. Republican leaders have already acknowledged they will not meet Thursday's deadline for a spending bill, and will have to pass yet another stopgap measure -- with help from Democrats -- to avoid a new government shutdown. House Speaker Paul Ryan said while both sides were "making progress," a temporary spending bill was necessary to keep the lights on in Washington. "We're still negotiating the contents and the duration of that," he said. Lawmakers are smarting from an embarrassing three-day shutdown last month, when Democrats refused to back a spending measure that did not address the situation of the "Dreamers" -- hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the country as children. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this time he did not expect a repeat of the shutdown, for which both camps have traded blame. "There's no education in the second kick of a mule," the Kentucky lawmaker said. - Debt ceiling limit looms - Complicating the legislative schedule, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned Congress that the Treasury has only enough cash to pay its bills through February 28, without hitting the debt limit and using extraordinary measures to keep payments flowing. That is earlier than expected, the Congressional Budget Office said, because last year's $1.5 trillion tax cut is resulting in less federal revenue. The crammed to-do list is further jeopardized by the partisan feuding gripping Washington over an explosive Republican memorandum that Trump declassified on Friday. House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes argues in the document that the FBI engaged in abuse of power by relying on unsubstantiated evidence to authorize surveillance of a Trump campaign aide. In a strongly worded letter to the president, top Democrats including congressman Adam Schiff warned of "a constitutional crisis" should he use the memo as a pretext to fire the special prosecutor heading an investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow. Trump fired back on Twitter: "Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington," he said. "Must be stopped!" - 'Complete nonstarter' - Against this toxic backdrop, lawmakers are bracing for a heavyweight brawl on immigration. Last September, Trump decided to end DACA, meaning that its beneficiaries, the "Dreamers," could face deportation if Congress fails to act. Last week he unveiled a proposal that put Democrats in a bind. It would place 1.8 million immigrants, including some 700,000 Dreamers, on a pathway to citizenship -- a top priority for the opposition. But it would also require tightening border security including through $25 billion for Trump's border wall, ending the green-card visa lottery, and curtailing the family reunification procedure that prioritizes relatives of US citizens in immigrating to the country. In a bipartisan push to break the deadlock, Senate Republican John McCain and Democrat Chris Coons on Monday announced a plan that both offers a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and boosts border security, but does not address family reunification or the visa lottery. Democrats say Trump's demands amount to holding Dreamers "hostage" in exchange for anti-immigrant policies. "Make no mistake, this plan is a complete nonstarter," insisted Senator Kamala Harris. Trump warned Democrats they would be making a mistake if they choose to block his proposal. "We'll either have something that's fair and equitable and good and secure, or we're going to have nothing at all," he told Republican lawmakers at their winter retreat last week. Trump has received pushback from his own party, with hardcore conservatives loathe to cede too much on immigration. "Illegals have No Right to be here," congressman Steve King tweeted. "This #Amnesty deal negotiates away American Sovereignty."