Government shutdown is looming as bill stalls
Senate unlikely to pass after House gives OK
WASHINGTON — A government shutdown appeared likely after Congress deadlocked over a proposed four-week stopgap spending bill to keep federal offices open past today’s deadline.
After the House passed the measure 230-197 Thursday night with strong Republican support, the bill was headed for probable defeat today in the Senate amid strong opposition from most Democrats and a few Republicans.
Eleven House Republicans defied GOP leaders by joining most Democrats to oppose the bill. Six Democrats voted in favor.
The setback sends the White House and congressional leaders back to the negotiating table in a frantic search for a compromise.
Democrats are rejecting the package because it lacks an immigration deal to protect socalled Dreamers from deportation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blasted Democrats for playing politics with the nation’s stability and security. He said they
were putting the needs of the young immigrants ahead the rest of the country.
“That’s apparently how our Democratic colleagues rank their priorities,” McConnell said. “It’s not how I would rank mine.”
But Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, blamed Republicans’ internal divisions and a lack of leadership from the White House, particularly amid the president’s shifting views in the immigration talks.
“The leader is looking to deflect blame, but it just won’t work,” Schumer, DN.Y., said. “We all now what the problem is: It’s complete disarray on the Republican side.”
Schumer called upon Congress to pass a shortterm resolution to extend the funding deadline for two or three days to allow for some breathing space in which congressional leaders and White House could try to arrive a compromise.
But both sides were already working to blame each other for what would be the first shutdown since 2013, when Republicans closed the government in an unsuccessful bid to kill Obamacare.
Among GOP senators who had said they won’t vote for the short-term measure are Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has been trying to negotiate an immigration deal, and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Other Republicans are thought to be on the fence, and Sen. John McCain of Arizona is not expected to vote because he has not returned to Washington since going home to battle brain cancer.
The current spending authority for government operations ends after midnight Friday. If not extended, hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed and many — but not all — government offices would be shut down.
GOP leaders had been racing to cobble together what would be their fourth short-term funding bill since last fall.
The proposed extension to Feb. 16 included six years of additional funding authorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program for working-class kids, a provision added to help attract Democratic votes.
But most Democrats panned the measure.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the GOP bill a “bowl of doggy doo.”
Democrats are angry that the GOP bill lacks protections for the young immigrants covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. Trump has said he will end the Obama-era program, which offered the immigrants work permits and protection from deportation.
Though Trump has said he wants to help the young immigrants, he is also trying to get funding for his border wall with Mexico along with other immigration law changes in return.
Trump and GOP leaders in Congress have worked hard to blame Democrats for any potential shutdown, but Pelosi said Republicans bear responsibility because they control the government.
“This is one of the only times ever there’s been a shutdown when one party controlled the House, the Senate, the White House,” she said, noting that Trump has previously said a shutdown might not be a bad thing. “It’s really almost like an amateur hour.”
Even some Republicans are unconvinced about the GOP plan, either because it does not include increased funding for the Pentagon or because they want to reduce government spending on principle.
Others also want help for the DACA recipients or additional disaster aid for victims of the recent hurricanes and fires.