President Donald Trump will promote the economic benefits of Republican tax cuts and ask the Senate to pass his proposed immigration overhaul at the congressional GOP retreat Thursday, amplifying themes from his State of the Union address.
“The priorities of Republicans in Congress are the priorities of the American people. We believe in strong families and strong borders,” Trump will tell Republican lawmakers gathered at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, according to excerpts released in advance by the White House.
Trump made a nod to bipartisanship and unity in his nationally televised address to Congress on Tuesday, reaching out to Democrats on issues including infrastructure, criminal justice and lowering drug prices. But his tough remarks on immigration policy—including a swipe at immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, called “dreamers” by their advocates—rankled the opposition.
Trump had begun to fire off Twitter attacks at Democrats again by Thursday morning.
“Will be planning Infrastructure and discussing Immigration and DACA, not easy when we have no support from the Democrats. NOT ONE DEM VOTED FOR OUR TAX CUT BILL! Need more Republicans in ‘18," he said on Twitter before leaving the White House for the retreat.
Heading to beautiful West Virginia to be with great members of the Republican Party. Will be planning Infrastructure and discussing Immigration and DACA, not easy when we have no support from the Democrats. NOT ONE DEM VOTED FOR OUR TAX CUT BILL! Need more Republicans in ‘18.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2018
Democrats have criticized his demand for an immigration law that would roll back visa preferences for family members of U.S. citizens, what Trump calls “chain migration.” Democrats are pressing for action to restore protections against deportation for the dreamers that will lapse on March 5 after Trump ended President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Trump will ask Republican lawmakers at the retreat to pass “an immigration reform package that includes a permanent solution on DACA, secures the border, ends chain migration, and cancels the visa lottery,” calling it “a plan that will finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century.”
Trump suggested in another morning tweet that the Democrats, not he, are obstructing the restoration of dreamer protections.
“March 5th is rapidly approaching and the Democrats are doing nothing about DACA. They Resist, Blame, Complain and Obstruct - and do nothing. Start pushing Nancy Pelosi and the Dems to work out a DACA fix, NOW!” he tweeted.
As Trump addresses Republican lawmakers, the president and his aides behind the scenes are deliberating whether to allow them to release a classified Republican memo that alleges bias and counterintelligence abuses in government surveillance in related to the Russia investigation. FBI Director Christopher Wray opposes the release, and while Trump before reading it signaled his intent to release it there are divisions inside the White House about the risks of such a move.
Trump’s speech to the lawmakers comes a day after a chartered Amtrak train carrying many of them to the retreat struck a garbage truck outside Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one person on the truck.
