WASHINGTON \u2014 Lawmakers remained deadlocked Thursday night as lawmakers nudged closer to a Friday deadline the Senate\u2019s vote to avert a government shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Senate adjourned Thursday night unable to agree when to vote on a stopgap measure to keep the government open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The impasse adds pressure on Republican leadership and Democrats, who are using the threat of a government shutdown to force Republicans to make a deal to extend protections for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as young children, reauthorize a children\u2019s health insurance program and boost spending caps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the evening, the House passed Congress\u2019 fourth temporary funding bill since September, which would keep the government funded through Feb. 16. But, as party leaders traded barbs on the Senate floor, a shutdown seemed ever more likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate leaders had sought a Thursday night vote on the bill, which Democrats expected to defeat, but they could not get unanimous consent to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the partisan blame game ahead of a possible shutdown, each side accused the other of hurting the military. The immigration controversy over a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has entangled talks to raise statutory budget caps and pass overdue 2018 federal spending legislation for the military and the rest of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans have insisted that Democrats are putting undocumented immigrants ahead of the military by holding out for an agreement to codify in law the Obama administration\u2019s DACA program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy Democratic colleagues\u2019 demand on illegal immigration at the behest of their far-left base have crowded out all other important business, crowded it all out,\u201d Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a floor debate late Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow they are threatening to crowd out the needs of veterans, military families, opioid treatment centers, and every other American who relies on the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., countered by reading a statement from Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White, which called CRs \u201cwasteful and destructive\u201d and called for a fully funded fiscal 2018 budget on DoD\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust ask [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis if this is what he would prefer we do, another continuing resolution or an honest-to-goodness budget that allows our Defense Department to plan ahead and meet their obligations,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cWe all know he would prefer the latter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats have repeatedly accused Republicans, who control the White House and both chambers of Congress, of disarray, saying President Trump has been a wobbly negotiating partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow can you negotiate when the president, who has to sign the legislation, is like a sphinx on this issue, or says one thing one day and one thing the next?\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, the House passed the stopgap continuing resolution, 230-197, with six Democrats voting \u201cyes\u201d and 11 Republicans voting \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That CR gained needed votes from the conservative Freedom Caucus after the chamber\u2019s GOP leaders promised a future vote on a stand-alone defense appropriations bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Republicans have not been in lockstep either. Sens. Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham, or Kentucky and South Carolina, respectively, have said they plan to vote against the CR for various reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., has not stated his position on a 30-day CR, but he has supported a shorter alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., initially opposed a 30-day CR, but he has reportedly changed positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Graham, who is both pro-defense and a player in DACA negotiations, is arguing the path to a long-term defense boost is to make a bipartisan deal for DACA recipients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe American people want us to deal with BOTH issues sooner rather than later,\u201d Graham said in a statement Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the lower chamber, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., chairman of the House Armed Services seapower subcommittee, voted against the CR, citing the damage that unstable funding wreaks on the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe key is, does this 30 days give all sides enough ability to negotiate a deal they can agree upon with DACA \u2014 and if not, aren\u2019t we in the same place?\u201d Wittman said. \u201cI think [House GOP] leadership did exactly what they need to do, but I just don\u2019t see the path ahead from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agreement between House GOP leadership and the House Freedom Caucus was for a House vote on defense appropriations within the next few weeks and an internal vote count on an immigration bill crafted by House conservatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The defense vote would likely provide an opportunity for House Republicans to publicly convey their support for the military and force a tough vote on Democrats, who are demanding a dollar-for-dollar match in nondefense discretionary spending. However, it faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if the Senate GOP\u2019s leadership were to bring it to a vote, the proposal is \u201cdead on arrival\u201d there, according to the HASC\u2019s top Democrat, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, because Democrats would be needed to pass it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo ignore that [no-defense] portion of the budget is completely irresponsible,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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