Story highlights Maybe all of you should start thinking about going back to a form of earmarks," Trump said

Many of the lawmakers laughed after the remark

(CNN) President Donald Trump said Tuesday said Democrats and Republicans should consider bringing back earmarks to make passing legislation easier.

"Maybe all of you should start thinking about going back to a form of earmarks," Trump said, leading many of the lawmakers to laugh.

The comment came during a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers dealing with immigration reform on Tuesday at the White House.

"This system really lends itself to not getting along. It lends itself to hostility and anger, they hate the Republicans, they hate the Democrats," the President said.

Earmarks have long been targeted as examples of unnecessary spending, historically used by lawmakers to bring government money back to specific projects in their home states. Leadership used to woo votes on legislation by offering up the monetary carve outs in exchange for support.

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