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Dick Durbin Tag

Dick Durbin's claim that Donald Trump referred to "s***hole" non-white countries during a closed door DACA negotiation has lit a fire. It appears to be part of a strategy from Durbin and Democrats to walk away from a DACA deal unless they get what they want (primarily amnesty without any changes in immigration practices or border enforcement), preferring to make this a racial issue. I covered this in my post, Dick Durbin blew up DACA, deliberately:

Democrats and the media think they have the golden bullet to take down Trump, in the form of the "s--thole" comment during DACA negotiations behind closed doors. There are conflicting claims and reports as to whether the term was used, and to whom he was referring if it were used. Original reports said it was mentioned in relation to Haiti, but that has been walked back. Whether you agree with the comment or not, assuming it were used, it hardly merits the current obsession, with no sign of letting up. It's 24/7. Many Republicans are asking only "how high" they have to jump in condemning Trump.

*UPDATE* Senate has also passed the stopgap spending bill, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a two-week spending bill that will beat the deadline of a government shutdown.

After clearly stating that as president he had no power to change immigration law, then-president Obama went ahead in 2012 with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  Obama himself referred to DACA as his "action to change the law," a power vested in the legislature, not the executive. In 2010, Obama told an audience of amnesty proponents that he's "not king" and "can't do these things just by myself."  In 2011, he explained further, "that he couldn't "just bypass Congress and change the (immigration) law myself. ... That's not how a democracy works."  And in 2012, he did it anyway. Then-presidential candidate Trump campaigned on ending DACA, and in September, he announced his decision to end DACA after giving Congress six months to pass it into law.  Passing DACA or some equivalent into law is perfectly within the purview of Congress.

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch will face the Senate Judiciary Committee for the third day starting at 9:30 AM EDT. Today should be the last day of Gorsuch's testimony. Hearings will continue after today but will feature witnesses both in favor and opposed to Gorsuch's nomination. Yesterday, Senate Democrats attempted to nail Gorsuch on political issues unsuccessfully.