Tag: government shutdown

Senate approves $854B spending bill

The Senate is racing to avoid the third government shutdown of the year ahead of a looming end-of-the-month deadline.

Senators on Tuesday voted 93-7 to pass a sweeping $854 billion spending bill that includes funding for the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor and Education, which make up the lion’s share of total government spending.

Six Republican senators — Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul(Ky.), David Perdue (Ga.), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Pat Toomey (Pa.) — joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in voting against the legislation, which also includes a short-term stopgap bill to fund the rest of the government through Dec. 7 and prevent a shutdown that would start Oct. 1.

View the complete September 18 article by Jordain Carney and Iv Elis on the Hill website here.

Trump doubles down on shutdown threat

The following article by Jordan Fabian was posted on the Hill website July 30, 2018:

Credit: AP, Susan Walsh

President Trump on Monday doubled down on his threat to shut down the government to secure enhanced border security measures.

“If we don’t get border security after many, many years of talk within the United States, I would have no problem doing a shutdown,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Italy’s prime minister.

But Trump would not say if he would veto a spending bill in September unless it included “full” funding for a border wall, saying, “I’ll always leave room for negotiation.”

View the complete article here.

The dumbest shutdown ever

The following article by Rachael Bade and Seung Min Kim was posted on the Politico website February 8, 2018:

The sole purpose of the all-nighter is to ensure federal employees can show up for work Friday without interruption.

Rand Paul and Nancy Pelosi have virtually nothing in common. But on Thursday night, the conservative Kentucky firebrand and San Francisco Democratic leader teamed up to push Washington into what Capitol Hill dwellers are calling the dumbest shutdown fight ever.

Incensed that a bipartisan budget deal would balloon the national debt, Paul delayed a roll call on a long-term budget agreement until after the midnight deadline to fund the government. Continue reading “The dumbest shutdown ever”

White House shutdown strategy: Keep Trump contained

The following article by Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website January 22, 2018:

President Trump arrives to speak to “March for Life” participants from an event at the White House on Friday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

As negotiations to keep the government open stalled Friday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called President Trump and told him he should prepare for a shutdown.

Trump, ever eager for a deal, responded by asking who else he should call and suggested he dial Democrats or try Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) again, one person familiar with the conversation said. Continue reading “White House shutdown strategy: Keep Trump contained”

Trump: Democrats ‘could have easily made a deal’ to avert shutdown

The following article by Alicia Cohn was posted on the Hill website January 20,2018:

Credit: Punyaruk Baingern/Shutterstock.com

On the morning after a government shutdown, President Trump cast blame on Democrats for deciding to “play shutdown politics” when they “could have easily made a deal.”

He also turned the current shutdown into a campaign slogan for the 2018 midterm elections.

“Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border,” Trump tweeted on Saturday morning. “They could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead. #WeNeedMoreRepublicansIn18 in order to power through mess!” Continue reading “Trump: Democrats ‘could have easily made a deal’ to avert shutdown”

There’s a strong case to make that Trump is a big reason why the government just shut down

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website January 20, 2018:

Funding for the government expired at midnight on Jan. 20 after a short-term spending bill failed in the Senate. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde, Jordan Frasier/Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

The government is shutting down for the first time in more than four years, and President Trump has spent days trying to lay the blame on the Democrats. Continue reading “There’s a strong case to make that Trump is a big reason why the government just shut down”

Republicans’ no-win choice: Dreamers or defense

The following article by Rachael Bade and Connor O’Brien was posted on the Politico website January 17, 2018:

The government shutdown threat is forcing the party to choose between maintaining a hard line on immigration or spending more on the military.

“I am going to be very hard to deal with if we continue to delay funding the Defense Department,” Sen. Lindsey Graham warned this week. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Donald Trump and Republican leaders are being forced to choose between two prized conservative priorities as they try to head off a government shutdown: bolstering the military or taking a hard line against immigration.

Democrats’ refusal to strike a long-term budget accord without a deal to shield 700,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation means Republican can’t have both. They can strike a deal to protect Dreamers, which would upset the base but secure the extra defense spending they’ve pined for. Or they can continue to hold the line against the Obama-era immigration program known as DACA, keep struggling to pass patchwork spending bills, and let the Pentagon limp along with no infusion of money. Continue reading “Republicans’ no-win choice: Dreamers or defense”

Shutdown looms as Republicans seek short-term spending deal for government

The following article by Mike DeBonis, Ed O’Keefe and Sean Sullivan was posted on the Washington Post website January 16, 2018:

If Congress doesn’t reach agreement on crucial immigration issues and pass a spending bill, the costly consequence would be a government shutdown. (Video: Joyce Koh/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Chances of a government shutdown grew Monday as Republicans concluded that they would be unable to reach a long-term spending accord by the Friday deadline. GOP leaders are now turning to a short-term funding measure in hopes of keeping agencies open while talks continue, but Democratic leaders say they are unlikely to support any deal that does not protect young illegal immigrants.

Aides to key negotiators from both parties planned to meet Tuesday in an effort to rekindle budget talks, setting up a Wednesday meeting of the leaders themselves. If they cannot agree, the government would shut down at midnight Friday for the first time since 2013. Continue reading “Shutdown looms as Republicans seek short-term spending deal for government”

With Talks in Flux, Shutdown Showdown Gets Closer

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website December 19, 2017:

Fate of ‘cromnibus’ hangs in the balance

President Donald Trump walks with House Speaker Paul Ryan, November 2017. Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

House Republicans’ plan to pass a full-year Defense appropriations bill with a continuing resolution for remaining agencies through Jan. 19 was supposed to be an easy lift, a measure designed to show the Senate their unified support for increased national security funding. Continue reading “With Talks in Flux, Shutdown Showdown Gets Closer”

Different Trumps Displayed on Each End of Penn. Ave.

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website November 29, 2017:

Dems get ‘street fighter,’ GOP gets charmer in chief

President Donald Trump arrives on Tuesday with Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for the Republican Senate Policy luncheon in the Capitol to discuss a tax overhaul bill. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

President Donald Trump sometimes tries to charm others during negotiations, but often he prefers to fight.

Both strategies were on display Tuesday, as the president and Republican leaders, even while working to shepherd a tax overhaul through the Senate, turned their attention to a massive spending measure needed to avert a government shutdown next month — a measure that will require Democratic votes to pass.

Trump could have chosen to start negotiations with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer with the kind of charm offensive he laid on Xi Jinping during his recent trip to Asia. After meeting with the Chinese president, whose support he needs to address the North Korea threat, Trump declared him “more powerful” than Mao Zedong. Continue reading “Different Trumps Displayed on Each End of Penn. Ave.”