Congress appeared to have no solution for a government shutdown stalemate Friday, as President Donald Trump warned of a "very long" lapse in funding if lawmakers do not approve money for his proposed border wall.
Parts of the government will close if Congress cannot pass spending bills for seven agencies by midnight Friday. As of the morning, lawmakers appeared far from breaking an impasse over whether to fund the barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border.
House Republicans passed a bill Thursday night to keep the government running through Feb. 8 and put more than $5 billion toward the president's wall. The Senate is expected to vote on, and reject, the legislation after it convenes at noon on Friday.
The GOP-controlled chamber already passed a temporary funding measure without wall money. Democrats, whose votes are needed to reach the necessary 60 in the Senate, have repeatedly said they will not approve funds for the barrier. Republicans hold a 51-49 majority.
The deadlock leaves Washington speeding toward its third shutdown this year with only hours to prevent it and no clear resolution in sight. A lapse in funding would likely last through Christmas and into the new year, past when Democrats take control of the House on Jan. 3. It would send the unified Republican government out in a swirl of chaos that marked Trump's first two years in the White House.
Trump has promised to "take the mantle" and be "proud" if funding lapses because he pushed for the border wall. House Republicans, knowing funding for the barrier would not get through both chambers, approved their bill Thursday after Trump threatened to veto the Senate-passed measure without wall money.
In a string of tweets Friday, Trump again laid out his case for the barrier and pressured Democrats to back it. He admitted Democrats "will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED." The party has called the wall proposal inhumane, and even many Republicans have joined it in calling the possible barrier ineffective.
"If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time," the president wrote.
Trump tweet
In a subsequent tweet, the president wrote: "Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for Border Security!"
Before the House voted Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reiterated that his party will not approve wall funding. "Everyone knows" the House bill "will not pass the Senate," the New York Democrat said.
A "Trump temper tantrum will shut down the government, but it will not get him his wall," Schumer said.
As he lamented a lack of Democratic votes Friday morning, Trump again pushed the Senate to scrap the legislative filibuster that requires 60 votes for most legislation. He thanked Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., for "being willing to go with the so-called nuclear option in order to win on DESPERATELY NEEDED Border Security!"
"Have my total support," he wrote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has rejected Trump's repeated requests to get rid of the filibuster for legislation. He did scrap the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court justices last year.
from Top News & Analysis https://cnb.cx/2LyWxWM
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