Paul Ryan: DACA Fix Separate From Spending Bill

The DACA fix will be separate from the spending bill, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday during a town hall-style interview with Fox News' Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

"We are planning on doing that separately," Ryan said when Baier asked him to "commit one way or another whether a DACA fix is in the spending bill."

Baier then asked, "So not Dec. 8?" to which Ryan replied, "Correct. We are planning on keeping that separate from spending."

President Donald Trump in September announced he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals with a six-month delay, putting pressure on Congress to take action and enshrine DACA's protections into law. The Obama-era program grants amnesty to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children.

The GOP's goal is to pass a long-term spending bill by the end of the year, but Ryan suggested Tuesday lawmakers may not be able to do so by a Dec. 8 deadline. The government will shut down on Dec. 9 without a new spending measure.

"We might need a little bit more time to give the appropriators time to write their bill" for fiscal 2018 spending, he told reporters, but added, "we are not talking about going into next year."

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