Who Trump is listening to in DACA talks

As Congress voted to reopen the federal government, senators huddled at the White House to discuss “the next steps on responsible immigration reform.” It was noteworthy that Sen. Tom Cotton was there and Sen. Lindsey Graham was not, according to the guest list.

That is the opposite of what some on Capitol Hill want, even as the White House dug in Tuesday with press secretary Sarah Sanders declaring a Graham-backed bipartisan immigration proposal "totally unacceptable to the president" and "dead on arrival."

Graham, R-S.C., and his Democratic allies have been increasingly vocal about blaming Cotton,R-Ark., and other immigration hawks for the failure of talks about codifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the rejection of their plan for handling the issue. Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said as much on the Senate floor.

"There is no deal that Sen. Cotton or Rep. [Bob] Goodlatte could forge that could earn the majority of either the House or the Senate,” Schumer said, adding, “If Sen. Cotton and Rep. Goodlatte have veto power over an agreement, everyone knows there won't be an agreement." He said the same thing directly to the president, Politico reported.

“Sen. Cotton knows Sen. Schumer and Democrats want to exclude him from immigration talks because he would get a good deal and they want a bad deal,” said Caroline Tabler, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Republican.