DEAL OR NO DEAL? Confusion mounts over what exactly went down at Trump's dinner with Schumer and Pelosi

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  Win McNamee/Getty Images

  Donald Trump.

  There's a lot that's unclear about Trump's possible DACA deal with Schumer and Pelosi.
• It centers around whether there's a deal at all, what it means for Trump's massive border wall, and whether the Democrats were getting Trump to agree on DACA or the DREAM Act.
• The confusion had led to a wild day in Washington, DC.

There's plenty of confusion over what exactly went down at President Donald Trump's Wednesday dinner with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - particularly as it related to a possible agreement on how to handle illegal immigrants protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Current and former Republican Capitol Hill staffers told Business Insider they couldn't speak to the merits of any potential agreement with so many variables still up in the air.

Mixed messages - particularly from the White House - have made it so that many are asking what exactly the trio came to terms on regarding DACA, a program initiated by President Barack Obama that protects some 800,000 people living in the US illegally from being deported while allowing them to work legally in the country. Those who are protected were people who were brought into the country as minors.

News of the possible agreements between Trump and the Democrats first broke last night following the dinner, which was only first announced earlier in the day. The first statement on the meeting was provided by the White House, which said the dinner was "constructive" and included conversations on "tax reform, border security, DACA, infrastructure and trade."

Shortly after, Schumer and Pelosi released a joint statement that called the dinner "very productive" and said the conversation was focused on DACA. The pair of lawmakers said that the trio "agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that's acceptable to both sides."

Pandemonium broke out.

Republican Rep. Steve King, a far-right immigration hawk, called the reported deal "Unbelieveable!" He added that Trump's support base would be "blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair." Conservatives quickly bashed the agreement. Many other Republicans were simply seeking clarity on what went down.

"@realDonaldTrump Morn news says u made deal w Schumer on DACA/hv ur staff brief me/ I know u undercut JudiCimm effort 4 biparty agreement," Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley tweeted.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to qualm some conservatives' greatest fear following the initial Schumer-Pelosi statement: That the promise of a massive border wall along the US-Mexico border was scrapped.

"While DACA and border security were both discussed, excluding the wall was certainly not agreed to," she tweeted.

But Democrats quickly insisted the wording of their statement had been misconstrued.

"The President made clear he would continue pushing the wall, just not as part of this agreement," tweeted Matt House, Schumer's communications director.

It only got murkier from there.

So was there a deal?

Trump began his Thursday morning by announcing that a deal was not made with regard to DACA. But moments later, he seemed to endorse the deal described by the Democratic leaders.

"No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote," he tweeted, adding, "The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built."

"Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!" Trump said in the first of his next two tweets. "They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own - brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security."

The Democratic leaders quickly fired back in a statement, saying Trump's tweets were "not inconsistent" with "the agreement" the three reached last night.

"As we said last night, there was no final deal, but there was agreement on the following: 'We agreed that the President would support enshrining DACA protections into law, and encourage the House and Senate to act," Schumer and Pelosi said in the statement.

"What remains to be negotiated are the details of border security, with a mutual goal of finalizing all details as soon as possible. While both sides agreed that the wall would not be any part of this agreement, the President made clear he intends to pursue it at a later time, and we made clear we would continue to oppose it."

The Democrats said the proposal for border security that was discussed included "new technology, drones, air support, sensor equipment, rebuilding roads along the border" and existing congressional legislation.

Speaking to reporters during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One as Trump traveled to visit hurricane victims in Florida, Trump said lawmakers are "working on a plan" that is "subject to getting massive border controls."

"People want to see that happen," he said. "You have 800,000 young people, brought here, no fault of their own. So we're working on a plan, we'll see how it works out. We're going to get massive border security as part of that. And I think something can happen, we'll see what happens, but something will happen."

He said he wants to get "massive border security" and that he believes both Pelosi and Schumer are on board. He also said the trio is "fairly close" on such an arrangement.

Pointing to the statement from Schumer and Pelosi, Trump said the Democrats were not insisting that a deal had already been struck.

"There was no deal and they didn't say they had a deal," he said. "In fact, they just put out a statement they didn't say that at all."

Thomson Reuters

Chuck Schumer.

Schumer took the Senate floor around the same time to attempt to provide clarity on the whole ordeal. The New York Democrat spoke of having a "framework" for a deal agreed to.

"We agreed that the president would support enshrining DACA protections into law," he said. "In fact, it's something he's stated for a while that needs to be done. And the president would also encourage the House and Senate to act. What remains to be negotiated are the details of border security, with a mutual goal of finalizing all details as soon as possible."

The Wall?

The biggest fire that emerged after news of the DACA discussions emerged was over the idea that Trump was either abandoning his pledge to build a wall or that he would put off wall funding for some future immigration-related deal.

In his early morning tweets, Trump seemed to equate his pledge of a border wall with repairs and reinforcements of existing wall along the border, certainly not the same idea that many of his supporters hold when envisioning the Trump border wall.

Pressed at length on this topic Thursday, Trump seemed to provide an array of answers, saying both that "without the wall I wouldn't do anything" and that "the wall will come later."

"Very important is the wall," he told reporters on his Florida trip. "We have to be sure the wall isn't obstructed. Very important is the wall. We have to be sure the wall isn't obstructed because without the wall I wouldn't do anything. … It doesn't have to be here but they can't obstruct the wall if its in a budget or anything else."

Trump also said he will only finalize an agreement on DACA if "we get extreme security" that comes near but is not a wall.

"If we get not only surveillance, but everything that goes along with surveillance," he said. "And ultimately we have to have the wall. If we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing."

Schumer said in his floor speech that, although an agreement was made that the wall would not be pursued in DACA negotiations, Trump told the Democratic leaders he would pursue the wall "at a later time" and that the Democrats "made clear we would continue to oppose it."

"We have an understanding on this issue," Schumer said. "We have to work out details and we can work together on a border security package with the White House, and get DACA on the floor quickly."

DACA or DREAM?

There was much confusion Thursday morning over whether the loose agreement involved codifying the current DACA executive order into law, or whether Trump was agreeing to sign the DREAM Act into law if it were to pass Congress.

While both would serve as a form of amnesty, the DREAM Act would provide DACA recipients with a path to US citizenship while codifying DACA would not, though it would provide a number of protections for certain people.

One of the first questions Trump faced Thursday morning was whether he favors "amnesty." Trump shouted back: "The word is DACA."

While both releases from Schumer and Pelosi said Trump agreed to support enshrining DACA protections into law, Democrats said the two leaders were discussing the DREAM Act with Trump.

A top Democratic staffer told Business Insider that Schumer and Pelosi "were pitching DREAM."

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Nancy Pelosi.

During her Thursday press conference, Pelosi said Trump agreed to move forward on a deal that involved the DREAM Act tied with enhanced border security.

"He too wanted to see some border initiatives, which we said we would look into," Pelosi said, adding that "any solution to the challenges facing the dreamers must include the bipartisan DREAM Act."

The California Democrat said the DREAM Act includes a pathway to citizenship and that those who would be covered by the legislation "get way at the end of the line of people who have been here fully documented."

"It's a long path," Pelosi said. "It's like a 15-year path, and this is an earned path, in other words, in the DREAM Act. It's an earned path, but it is a long road. ... We agreed on our path, which is our insistence in every conversation with the speaker, with the president, with the Dreamers that it will be the DREAM Act sponsored by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard."

A comment from a White House spokesperson seemed to back up what Pelosi said. The spokesperson told CNN that while Trump "will not be discussing amnesty," he will discuss "legal citizenship over a period of time."

Speaking to reporters, Trump said, "No, we're not looking at citizenship" and "we're not looking at amnesty."

"We're looking at allowing people to stay here," he said, which signaled that he was speaking about codifying DACA protections. "We're working with everybody - Republican. We're working with Democrat. I just spoke with Paul Ryan, he's onboard. Everybody is onboard. They want to do something. We're not talking about amnesty. We're talking about - we're talking about taking care of people, people that were brought here, people that have done a good job and were not brought here of their own volition."