Sen. Lindsey Graham saw the potential for a deal that could effectively save face for all sides. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo Congress Graham sees potential for deal to end shutdown

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday on CNN that a compromise on border security that “might save the day in the Senate” is possible in the Senate.

“At the end of the day, there’s a deal to be had,” he said to “State of the Union” host Dana Bash, adding, “We need to start talking again.”


Graham described the outlines of a potential deal that would exchange funding for a border wall, as sought by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, in exchange for protections for so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who have grown up in the U.S. after being brought here as young children. Those protections have been sought by Democrats on the Hill.

"So, to my Democratic friends, there will never be a deal without wall funding, and many Republicans are going to offer something as an incentive to vote for wall funding that you have supported in the past,” Graham said.

After meeting with the president later, Graham reiterated his hopes for a compromise proposal.

“There’s a lot of distrust in town and I guess you can blame both sides for that,“ Graham said. “But after lunch, I’ve never been more encouraged. If we can get people talking, we can find our way out of this mess.”

The battle over funding for a border wall, which the House approved but the Senate did not, has led to a partial government shutdown over the Christmas holidays, with no end in sight.

The president has said he won’t move forward without this funding; Graham said he thought that was indeed the case.

“You know,“ Graham said, “President Trump is not going to walk away from this fight without border security funding, money for the wall, for lack of a better way of saying it. And Democrats have a chance here to work with me and others, including the president, to bring legal status to people who have very uncertain lives.”

Later he added, “He’s not a man under siege. The president is firm in his commitment to make sure we get money for border security.”

Graham said he was “not asking anybody to do something new,” only asking for everyone to “rearrange the deal that was offered before.”

The South Carolina Republican added: “I hope calmer heads will prevail.”

Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) was less optimistic.

“Our negotiations are at an impasse at the moment. I wish it were not so, but we've got to move away from the blame game,” he said.

Andrew Restuccia contributed to this article.



