By Kristina Peterson, Natalie Andrews and Siobhan Hughes
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers failed Sunday to end the federal
government shutdown, which will stretch into a third day Monday as
negotiations over immigration continued to roil Capitol Hill.
The Senate was expected to hold a procedural vote at noon Monday
on a measure that would keep the government funded through Feb. 8,
but it wasn't clear if it would have enough support to advance.
A group of centrist senators from both parties had huddled
Sunday in an attempt to chart a way out of the stalemate, fearing
that it would harden as the shutdown's effects expanded once the
workweek began, including potential furloughs for tens of thousands
of federal employees.
That group didn't produce a clear-cut breakthrough Sunday night.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) came to the
chamber's floor Sunday night to express his willingness to consider
immigration legislation in early February if a deal hadn't already
been reached.
"Should these issues not be resolved by the time the funding
bill before us expires on February 8, 2018, assuming that the
government remains open, it would be my intention to proceed to
legislation that would address DACA, border security and related
issues," Mr. McConnell said on the floor.
It wasn't clear whether this constituted enough of a pledge to
satisfy Democrats' demands that the Senate consider legislation to
shield young illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as
children, known as the Dreamers. Their legal protections expire
March 5 under President Donald Trump's decision to end a program
called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
The government shut down after Democrats, who control enough
votes in the Senate to block legislation funding the government,
refused to move forward on a spending bill that didn't include
protections for the Dreamers.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) indicated Sunday
night that Mr. McConnell's comments weren't a sufficient reason for
him to drop his opposition to the spending bill.
"We have yet to reach an agreement on the path forward that
would be acceptable to both sides," Mr. Schumer said. It wasn't
clear whether enough centrist Senate Democrats might defect to
advance the spending bill, which needs 60 votes to clear a
procedural hurdle.
GOP leaders would need to pick up the support of seven more
Senate Democrats for the bill to advance, in addition to the five
who already back it. The Senate had blocked a four-week spending
bill Friday night in a 50-49 vote. Since then, GOP Sens. Lindsey
Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona, both of whom
opposed the bill on Friday, said they would support it on Monday.
Mr. McConnell had voted against the bill for procedural reasons, in
order to bring it up again later.
Mr. Flake said Mr. McConnell was now willing to consider an
immigration bill on the Senate floor, regardless of whether it had
the president's support. Mr. McConnell had said recently he would
only consider immigration legislation that Mr. Trump backed.
"The important thing is breaking with the White House on this
and not relying on the White House to give its approval," Mr. Flake
said. "That's significant."
Most Democrats were quiet Sunday night following Mr. McConnell's
comments. Before Mr. McConnell spoke on the floor, some Democrats
said they were hoping to hear him shift his tone on immigration,
which he had maintained should be addressed separately from the
spending bill.
"For much of last week, Leader McConnell would come to the floor
and say, 'Why are you conflating this unrelated issue?'" Sen. Chris
Coons (D., Del.) said earlier Sunday evening. "For the majority
leader to come out and say that [immigration] is also on the agenda
of things we are actively negotiating, we've got these senators who
are making progress...we will put that on the floor and move
forward by this date -- that is progress."
Congressional leaders have been working to hammer out a two-year
budget deal to increase both military and domestic spending. But
they aren't expected to reach an agreement until the immigration
debate is resolved. Lawmakers are also trying to strike a deal on
disaster aid and a long-term reauthorization of the Children's
Health Insurance Program.
Without an agreement Sunday night, the blame game that Democrats
and Republicans carried on all weekend over the shutdown was likely
to intensify, lawmakers said.
"I am really worried about where this thing goes because it's
going to get nastier in terms of rhetoric," said Mr. Graham,
predicting it would hit both parties. "First prize in a government
shutdown is you get to be dumb, not dumber. That's the best you can
hope for."
Republicans say Democrats have made basic government operations
contingent on helping a small slice of American residents and have
insisted that Democrats yield out of a sense of responsibility to
the broader population.
The GOP has been pushing to reopen the government with a
three-week spending bill, but Democrats haven't agreed to that
without a path forward for the Dreamers. Mr. Schumer said he made
significant concessions to Mr. Trump, including offering funding to
build a wall along the Mexican border, but the president rejected
it.
"The president must take 'yes' for an answer," Mr. Schumer said
on the Senate floor, urging Republicans to find a compromise with
Democrats. "A party that controls the House, the Senate and the
presidency would rather sit back and point fingers of blame than
roll up their sleeves and govern."
The White House disputed Mr. Schumer's account.
"Sen. Schumer's memory is hazy because his account of Friday's
meeting is false," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said
Sunday. "And the president's position is clear: We will not
negotiate on the status of unlawful immigrants while Sen. Schumer
and the Democrats hold the government for millions of Americans and
our troops hostage."
Mr. Trump hasn't endorsed any specific legislation on the
Dreamers, complicating a debate that was difficult even before his
presidency.
The bipartisan group of senators hoping to reach an agreement on
a framework that would lock the Senate into voting on an
immigration bill in early February planned to meet again Monday
morning.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump spoke with House Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R., Calif.) and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R.,
Texas), Ms. Sanders said. If the Senate passes the three-week
spending bill, it is expected to clear the House, lawmakers
said.
Mr. Trump tweeted on Sunday morning his support for the
Republicans' position and suggested the Senate change its rules if
they can't reach an agreement with Democrats.
"Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our Military
and Safety at the Border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to
pour into our nation unchecked," Mr. Trump said in a tweet early
Sunday. "If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51%
(Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term budget, no C.R.'s!" he
said, referring to a continuing resolution, a stopgap spending
bill.
Spending bills need 60 votes to clear procedural hurdles in the
Senate, where Republicans hold 51 seats. Mr. Trump urged
Republicans to change the chamber's rules so that spending bills
could pass with just a simple majority.
But Senate Republicans have resisted that idea in the past, not
wanting to eliminate the minority party's most important source of
leverage. A spokesman for Mr. McConnell said Sunday that hadn't
changed.
Mr. McConnell himself said he supported the current rules.
"I support that right from an institutional point of view, but
the question is when do you use it," he said Sunday.
Although the Senate has changed its rules to approve nominees
with just a simple majority, most senators believe lowering the
threshold for legislation would erase what distinguishes the Senate
from the House, a dynamic that has long forced senators to try to
reach bipartisan compromises.
--Michael C. Bender, Kate Davidson, Bob Davis and Peter Nicholas
contributed to this article.
Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com, Natalie
Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com and Siobhan Hughes at
siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2018 23:35 ET (04:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.