JUST IN: The House Republican steering committee has finished making its recommendations for next term's committee gavels — selecting Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) to lead the Education and Workforce Committee and Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) to lead Financial Services. The picks are subject to ratification by the full GOP Conference. More on Hill's selection for Pros DREAMER SEQUENCE Democrats are signaling a willingness to negotiate on immigration with Republicans as they sweep into power. What they aren’t necessarily willing to do is trust Donald Trump. The prize that many Democrats would like to secure is protecting Dreamers — Americans who came with their families to the U.S. at a young age and have since been protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created by President Barack Obama in 2012. Trump himself expressed an openness to “do something about the Dreamers” in a recent “Meet the Press” interview. But he would almost certainly want significant policy concessions in return, including border security measures and changes to asylum law that Democrats have historically resisted. So is a deal even possible? House Democrats who have been engaged on immigration said they are open to a conversation. But they harbor serious doubts that Trump would operate in good faith. “He is such an unpredictable character, and it's hard to reconcile that statement with the fact that Stephen Miller is going to be running the show,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), referring to the immigration hardliner who is set to become Trump’s deputy chief of staff and top domestic policy adviser. “But honestly,” she added, “I am open to doing everything possible to protect Dreamers and other immigrants and so if there comes time to make a deal, I hope we are all open to that.” Miller’s name came up in lots of conversations with Democrats as a potential obstacle to any deal. Not only is he an outspoken advocate for cracking down on illegal border crossings, he is a mastermind of Trump’s plans for a mass deportation of migrants already inside the U.S. Long memories: Plenty of Democrats remember the unsuccessful dealmaking during Trump’s first term, when they tried to horse-trade funding of his border wall to secure protections for Dreamers. Those negotiations never bore fruit, but some are still willing to try. “I've always been in favor of border security. I want to see Dreamers be protected, as well as [Temporary Protected Status] recipients and farm workers,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), a purple-district Democrat who leaned into the border during his campaign. But Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), one of the top negotiators behind the border bill Trump worked to kill earlier this year, said he doesn’t believe Trump’s professed concern for Dreamers and expressed frustration at the suggestion of fresh negotiations. “We've been through this a million times before,” he said. “We tried to do this when he was president the first time, and he refused to do it. … We offered billions of dollars in border security, and he turned it down every time. He doesn’t tell the truth.” Why it matters: Republicans have their own reasons to negotiate. While some GOP leaders want to use the fast-track reconciliation process to pass funding for border security and migrant deportations on party lines, not everything on their wish list can be included in a reconciliation bill. That could include asylum changes and an end to birthright citizenship — something Trump said he wanted to do before mentioning his desire to “work something out” in regards to Dreamers. But it could be a while before any conversation gets going: Border hawk Republicans aren’t in any hurry to make a deal with Democrats. “Right now we're focused on delivering everything we campaigned on, which is securing the border, stopping the flow and removing the disaster of having so many criminals and such a drain on our social welfare state,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). “Then we can figure out anything else going forward.” — Daniella Diaz and Nicholas Wu
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