The Trump administration hopes to keep this week's budget talks separate from discussion on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and it hopes that Democrats will not hold military spending "hostage" on the immigration issue, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday.
"We want a clean budget bill," Sanders told Fox News' "Fox & Friends."
"We're hopeful that could happen. We're hopeful the Democrats will not hold our military hostage, will not hold the funding of our government hostage over a political battle that we should have, but we shouldn't have it connected to the budget."
The White House hopes to have a budget deal done by Friday's deadline, but still hopes for a deal on DACA, border security and the immigration system, Sanders said.
"Everyone agrees, both Democrats and Republicans, the House and Senate and the president that we want to see something on DACA," said Sanders.
"We want to see border security. It seems like a no-brainer. Hopefully Democrats will come to the table and really be serious about making a deal on both of these things that we want to get done."
The problem is, Sanders said, the Democrats don't want to see President Donald Trump succeed.
"He has had a huge year of — in 2017, one of the best first years of any president that we've seen, certainly with massive legislation passed, with the tax cuts, the economy is booming, ISIS is in retreat," she continued. "You have win after win with this president. I don't think they want to hand him another one."
With that stance, though, Democrats are penalizing the United States, said Sanders.
Sanders also discussed last Thursday's DACA meeting, and chastised people who thought Trump should have "jumped onto" the deal presented by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
"People act like we should have, that the president is outrageous for not jumping on to a bad deal," said Sanders. "This is a president who has been bashing bad deals for the last two years. The last thing he will do is sign on to another one.
"He is very much committed to making a deal when it comes to doing something permanent with DACA, doing something for border security. He wants to end chain migration, end the Visa lottery system, and really make sure we're taking steps so that we don't have to do this all over again in two years, that we're actually correcting the problem."
She does think that the open meeting at the White House, just two days before, was a "great foundation."
"I think you saw a lot of members voice the same opinions of being committed to getting something done and hopefully they will be serious about it." said Sanders.
Meanwhile, at the White House on Tuesday, 200 women from all across the country will be present for panel discussions on some of the large issues facing the United States, including the economy, security, and the opioid crisis, said Sanders.
"I think it will be an incredible event," she told the program. "This is both a time for us to talk about the things the administration has done. Also, I think more importantly, a time for to us listen to these women from across the country."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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