WASHINGTON _ Sen. Lindsey Graham is convinced that he holds the key to ending the partial government shutdown, but at the moment he's largely shouting into a void.
The South Carolina Republican with a reputation in Washington as a dealmaker is floating a compromise to an audience that has signaled no desire to cooperate.
For a lawmaker accustomed to being at the center of the action on practically every major legislative fight �� he even helped broker a deal to end the last government shutdown nearly a year ago �� Graham is noticeably absent from this battle.
His lack of success so far could be a symptom of the current political climate that's inhospitable to a player like Graham. It could also be that he's out of touch with his colleagues in both parties as he pushed a compromise for which few have any appetite.
Graham thinks President Donald Trump, an ally, should provide protections for undocumented immigrants at risk of immediate deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, plus those in the United States under Temporary Protected Status. In return for something Democrats want, Congress would give the president the $5 billion he and fellow Republicans want for a border wall.
Graham has been lobbying the president directly on this issue since early December, as Trump made it increasingly clear that he was prepared to shut down the government if Congress did not give him money to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border to curb illegal immigration. That shutdown is now in its third week.
On Dec. 30, Graham joined Trump for a 2-hour lunch at the White House. The senator said later that Trump called a DACA-for-wall-money plan "interesting."
In remarks Friday, however, following a meeting with congressional leaders, Trump said he wants to wait for the Supreme Court to rule on his bid to overturn DACA before resuming negotiations on broader immigration legislation.
"We'll discuss it at another time," Trump said regarding DACA.
Graham has also been appealing to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus with his own personal ties to Trump. Meadows is urging the president to continue the shutdown for as long as it takes to extract a concession from Democrats on border wall money.
"I've talked to Senator Graham more in the past two weeks than I have in the last six years, so, yeah, we've been talking on a daily basis about options," Meadows said Thursday. "Senator Graham has talked about a number of things that he's asked if conservatives can help with."
Yet few lawmakers so far are seriously discussing Graham's proposal as a possible shutdown exit strategy, which the senator said has left him "dumbfounded."
One explanation for the lack of interest in pursuing a path relating to DACA is that trust has eroded between Democrats and Republicans �� particularly between Democrats and the Trump White House �� on this issue.
"I know people in our caucus would consider" linking DACA to wall funding, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., whose district includes much of the U.S.-Mexico border. "But if that universe was possible, I think we would have explored it already."
Trump's hesitation to offer Graham's deal could be because he feels burned, Graham suggested in late December before the shutdown.
"I think he's open to some kind of DACA deal, I really do," Graham said. "I think he's reluctant to put it on the table because he put it on once before and they rejected it."
Graham was referring to a White House offer last January that would have codified DACA, and implemented a variety of other controversial changes to immigration law, in exchange for border wall funding. Democrats, however, contend that it was Trump who walked away from an immigration compromise.
But Graham himself might also have a role in poisoning the political atmosphere, hurting his ability to broker a deal.
While he speaks passionately about the need for compromise and the importance of protecting DACA beneficiaries, he has also been actively and enthusiastically supporting the shutdown in sharply partisan terms.
He's used Twitter and cable news to let Trump know he should "dig in" on demanding the wall and that the president should "break" the new House Democratic majority. Graham said on Fox News Wednesday that if Trump caves, it could be "the end of his presidency."
This is the kind of talk many of Graham's constituents want to hear. Long maligned by his critics as "Lindsey Grahamnesty" for his support for comprehensive immigration reform, Graham emerged from Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings a conservative hero, eradicating the threat of a serious primary challenge when the senator is up for re-election in 2020.
The rhetoric is alienating, however, to Democrats who don't see room for compromise on the wall.
"We're not doing a wall. Does anybody have any doubt about that? We are not doing a wall," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday.
Relenting on DACA is also not resonating strongly with some of the Republicans on Capitol Hill who Trump relies on to give him readings on the pulse of the conservative base.
Meadows said Friday that a "very narrow" deal involving DACA could pass muster but nothing more than that.
Graham isn't giving up. His spokesman, Kevin Bishop, said the senator was continuing to "work the phones and speak with everyone" this weekend from his home in South Carolina.
