White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney Mick MulvaneyMick Mulvaney to start hedge fund Fauci says positive White House task force reports don't always match what he hears on the ground Bottom line MORE said Sunday that President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE wants to find a fix for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“The president is absolutely interested and wants to get DACA fixed,” Mulvaney told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The Obama-era program, which shields certain immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation, has been at the center of negotiations over a short-term spending bill, as Democrats push for protections for the so-called Dreamers.

Trump said last year that he would rescind the program, but provided Congress with a window of time to craft a legislative fix.

Mulvaney said on Sunday that Trump has been “actively engaged” in trying to “avert the shutdown," adding that Republicans will need Democratic support to reopen the government.

“They need to vote to open the government tonight or tomorrow and then we can start talking about those bigger issues,” he said.

Mulvaney during another interview early Sunday also rejected claims the administration is xenophobic, while promoting a merit-based immigration system.

“We are interested in folks coming into this country who can contribute. I don’t think that ever qualifies as xenophobia," he told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

--This report was updated at 11:19 a.m.