Washington Free Beacon reporter Elizabeth Harrington said Thursday that Congress is running out of time to strike a budget deal, since Democrats refuse to cooperate to avert a government shutdown.
Fox Business host Charles Payne asked Harrington whether Congress would work out a spending deal, and she said it would be difficult to do in eight days as long as Democrats take a hard line. She said Democrats are demanding a Dream Act for those protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but despite a bipartisan meeting to address the matter on Tuesday, they have not been especially willing to move forward on border security.
"It is especially difficult when the Democrats are not willing to negotiate on anything," Harrington said. "They want the DREAM Act, they want DACA, in exchange for nothing on border security, the wall or anything."
"I don't think you will see a deal in eight days if that is how the Democrats are approaching it," she added.
Harrington also criticized Congress for resorting to continuing resolutions in the past, rather than passing a long-term budget. Payne mentioned Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) may be likely to use the option again given the current stalemate.
"A lot of people are really tired of this," Harrington said. "We've seen it throughout the past, since Obama was president ... continuing resolutions, constantly kicking the can down the road, not getting a long-term deal."
Harrington credited Trump with trying to deal with DACA in a permanent way, rather than Obama’s use of executive order.
"At least he is making [demands]," Harrington said. "If they kick the can down the road on spending, they can't do that on DACA, because that will end on March 5th."
The Trump administration rescinded the Obama-era DACA executive order in September, giving Congress until March to pass a legal legislative fix. The president has subsequently expressed his support for a permanent replacement while also prioritizing border security.
Harrington said Trump's bipartisan White House meeting strengthened his hand in the face of Democrats refusal to negotiate.
"Here you have a president that’s willing to let the cameras in, say what his demands are, and let plenty of Democrats get their say," Harrington said. "They really didn't say anything other than, 'we want to fix this for dreamers.' They didn't really offer any concessions."
She argued that those Democrats will face pressure over their intransigence and hypocrisy on the issue, with Payne pointing out that many Democrats voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. She went on to say that border security remains a popular position and Trump’s signature issue.
"[Democrats] can pretend all they want that the wall is unpopular now, but the fact of the matter is, it was Trump's signature campaign issue," Harrington said, listing other aspects of immigration policy that Americans want to be changed.