Senate Leaders Reach Agreement That Offers Possible Path to Reopen Government – The New York Times

While both measures faced long odds, they could usher in a more cooperative tone; if both fail, as expected, the votes could prompt the two sides to negotiate a bipartisan compromise. With the shutdown now in its fifth week, and 800,000 federal workers facing the loss of a second paycheck on Friday, the pressure is growing on parties to reopen the government.

Mr. Trump’s proposal, which he promoted in a televised address on Saturday as a bipartisan compromise to pair wall funding with temporary legal protections for some immigrants, is facing all but certain death after White House officials conceded privately on Tuesday they had tacked on controversial proposals anathema to Democrats that would block many migrants from seeking asylum.

The Republican legislation, unveiled Monday night, would provide $5.7 billion in wall funding and large spending increases for detention and removal of immigrants as well as three-year provisional protections for 700,000 of the young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers, and about 325,000 immigrants mostly from Latin American countries and Haiti who have been living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status.

“The opportunity to end all this is staring us right in the face,” Mr. McConnell said Tuesday, calling the president’s proposal “a comprehensive and bipartisan offer.”

“It’s a strong proposal, it’s the only thing on the table, and later this week, we’ll vote on it,” he added.