With Congress at impasse, shutdown looms
Down-to-the-wire vote in Senate expected today
WASHINGTON — The House approved a stopgap spending bill Thursday night to keep the government open past Friday, but Senate Democrats — angered by President Donald Trump’s vulgar aspersions and a lack of progress on a broader budget and immigration deal — appeared ready to block the measure.
The House approved the measure 230197, despite conflicting signals by Trump sent throughout the day and a threatened rebellion from conservatives that ended up fizzling. But the bill, which would keep the government open through Feb. 16, provided only a faint glimmer of hope that a crisis could be averted before funding expires at midnight Friday.
In the Senate, at least about a dozen Democratic votes would be needed to approve the measure, and there was little chance that those would materialize. Democrats are intent on securing concessions that would, among other things, protect from deportation young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, increase domestic spending, aid Puerto Rico and bolster the government’s response to the opioid crisis.
New Mexico’s U.S. senators, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, both Democrats, said Thursday they would not vote for any continuing resolution without a plan to fix the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.
The Senate held only a procedural vote on the stopgap bill late Thursday night, leaving for Friday a more consequential vote when Democrats are expected to block the measure.
In addition to keeping the government open, the bill would provide funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six years, and it would delay or suspend a handful of taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act.
The weeks-old standoff on immigration and spending only grew more charged last week after Trump referred to African nations as “shithole countries.” By Thursday, talks on those matters had produced little visible progress, and prominent House Democrats were introducing a resolution to censure the president for his words.
In the Senate, Democrats were unifying around a “no” vote. If the stopgap bill passes, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said, “there will be no incentive to negotiate, and we’ll be right back here in a month with the same problems at our feet.” Republicans were left seething. “We’re either going to act like 13-year-olds or not,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “Our first job is to keep government going, and if you’re going to shut her down, it better be for a damn good reason.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, lamented the Democrats’ “fixation on illegal immigration” at the expense of addressing other matters.
It is anything but clear which side would pay the steepest political price if the government does run out of money a year to the day after Trump took office. But Democrats appear poised to force the issue.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, complained the GOP had waited until the last minute to address the fate of the young immigrants and to deal with other pressing issues.
“But no, they have to fool around with giving the richest people in our country and the corporations huge, huge tax breaks,” she said. “That’s what they were running around doing in the dark of night. You think I’m a little upset? Damn right I am.”