At an oversight hearing Thursday, lawmakers examined proposals to compel presidents and presidential candidates to make years of their tax returns public.

Democrats want a lower number of beds as they try to limit how many illegal aliens ICE can detain, while Republicans want a higher number so the agency has adequate space to detain people as it processes asylum claims amid a massive backlog. But by the time the gavel fell in the Ways and Means hearing room, the Democrats had already made clear they were undeterred.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday that while Democrats are serious about their constitutional responsibility to investigate Trump, they aren't going to be reckless when they do it. "No one is above the law", he said.

US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Germany, on July 7, 2017.

"I think overwhelmingly the public wants to see the president's tax returns". Trump is being squeezed by Mueller's probe, by federal prosecutors in NY looking into his inaugural spending, and by other House probes into possible ties with Russians during the campaign.

"They're under audit. They have been for a long time", Trump said of his returns. On other occasions, he's also said that there's "nothing to learn from" his returns, that they are "extremely complex" so people "wouldn't understand them", and that Americans who aren't reporters don't "care at all" about what's in them.

A 1924 law gives authority to the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and the chair of the Joint Committee on Taxation to request in writing taxpayer information from the Treasury Department.

Since the 1970s, every president has released at least one year of annual tax returns.

Schiff has been a frequent target of Trump, who has referred to him on Twitter as "Schitt" and "Little Adam Schitt". Mnuchin has said he will analyze the request and respond if required by law, but has declined to say what legal stance his team might take.

Democrats formally took control of the House on January 3, and vowed to aggressively pursue oversight investigations, which may include issuing subpoenas for potentially damaging documents and advancing the Russian Federation investigation.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said if there's a deal and Speaker Nancy Pelosi brings it to the floor, he expects there'll be enough bipartisan votes for it to pass.

Members of both parties have expressed opposition to Trump bypassing Congress by declaring a national emergency at the border, a move that would be certain to produce lawsuits that could block the money.

The group Need to Impeach, funded by billionaire Tom Steyer, urged Neal to get the president's returns in a commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl, which was won by the chairman's home-state New England Patriots.

Mr. Trump refusal to release his tax returns or step down as the decision-maker for his company is a hot potato in Washington now that the Democrats control Congress.

"There is no end in sight for those whose tax information may be in jeopardy", Kelly said. A full-blown fight over the matter could derail Neal's other priorities, such as reducing prescription drug prices, overhauling retirement plans and rolling back some of the Republican tax cuts.

In early 2016, Trump said he'd release the returns after a federal audit was complete.

White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Friday morning, "We're on the verge of a government shutdown again because Democrats won't come to the table and have a conversation about securing the country".

About 60 percent of voters in an ABC News/Washington Post poll last month said that House Democrats should obtain and release the tax returns. But members said they would probably use the weekend to resolve all remaining concerns, with the goal of producing legislative text on Monday.

President Donald Trump had previously called the talks a "waste of time".