he Senate is scheduled to have a key vote at noon Monday on a bill to reopen the government and fund it for three weeks, though it’s unclear if this plan will win over enough Democrats to pass.
The vote will come several hours after the workday for hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal employees was supposed to have begun, and comes three days after the government officially shut down Friday at midnight. Many of the shutdown’s full effects were less visible during the weekend, when much of the federal workforce would typically be off anyway.
The vote was moved from 1 a.m. ET Monday to noon after it became clear Democrats would block the spending bill over disagreements on a variety of issues, most notably what do about young people affected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas said he thought Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York agreed to push back the vote to give his caucus “a chance to chew” on a GOP proposal to break the impasse. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]President Trump blamed Democratic lawmakers for a government shutdown Saturday, accusing them of “holding our Military hostage” over their demand that a short-term spending bill include protection for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.
“Democrats are holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration,” he tweeted. “Can’t let that happen!”
Democrats are holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration. Can’t let that happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018
Earlier in the day, he blasted Democrats for playing ‘Shutdown politics’ instead of working to make a deal with their counterparts across the aisle.- READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]White House officials insisted there will be no negotiations on including DACA amnesty into the government funding resolution despite Senate Democrats’ shutdown of the government on Saturday.
“We will not negotiate over the status of people here unlawfully while Democrats shut down the government of the millions who are here lawfully,” a White House aide told Breitbart News on Saturday.
White House director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short and White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney confirmed the sentiment in a briefing with reporters at the White House.
Short said that while they were open to further discussions on a DACA deal, they did not want a deal attached to the continuing resolution to fund the government.
“[W]e’re not going to be held hostage and let our troops be held hostage over this,” he said. “When they reopen the government, we will continue the discussions.”
Short said that Trump’s success in his first year as president was partially what prompted Democrats to shut down the government, accusing them of trying to impress leftist activists. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short took Democratic lawmakers to task Saturday for shutting the government down on Friday.
“Senate Democrats are basically conducting a two-year-old temper tantrum in front of the American people,” an exasperated Short declared. Senate Democrats blocked the passage of a continuing resolution late Friday which would have kept the government funded for another month, ostensibly in a bid to preserve Obama-era protections for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
Short however said defiantly that any negotiations over the future of the DACA program would have to continue only after Democratic lawmakers relent and the government is fully funded. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a new measure on funding the government for just a three-week period, which Short said was the only concession the White House is giving on the negotiation. – READ MORE