Funding for government lapses as short-term spending bill stalls in the Senate

[GennGreymane]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/power...=.f02c7dceef70

BREAKING: Government funding lapses for the first time since 2013

Funding for the government lapsed early Saturday morning for the first time since 2013 after Congress failed to meet a Friday midnight deadline. In the Senate, a short-term spending bill failed to advance amid opposition from Democrats and some Republicans and negotiations between party leaders failed to produce a short-term spending agreement in time.

This story will be updated.

A government shutdown seemed guaranteed late Friday after a short-term spending bill appeared to fail to advance due to opposition from Democrats and some Republicans.

Everything you need to know about a government shutdown
The bill to keep the government open through Feb. 16 collapsed just after 10 p.m. after a vote to end debate failed to garner the necessary 60 votes in the Senate. With the midnight deadline approaching, lawmakers had not agreed to an alternative plan and it was not clear what they would do next.

The vote was ongoing as of 11 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) were negotiating on and off the Senate floor, leading to speculation a deal might be in the works.

Republicans had insisted on a four-week funding extension that included a six-year authorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and delayed several health-care taxes. Senate Democrats called for a funding extension of several days that would allow more time for negotiations over the legal status of immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children, known as “dreamers.”

It was unclear what Congress might do over the weekend to re-open the government. House members were dismissed from Capitol Hill midday Friday but told to remain in Washington in case of further votes.

Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney, who said in a radio interview that he found it “kind of cool” that his position would allow him to officially close the government, predicted the conflict would be resolved before agencies open Monday.

“I think there’s a deal in the next 24 hours,” he told reporters.

The government will not officially close until Mulvaney sends a memo, so if a deal is close it is possible he could stretch the deadline slightly beyond midnight.

Lawmakers have been busy pointing fingers at who's to blame for the impasse. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

[More blame Republicans than Democrats for potential government shutdown, Post-ABC poll finds]

The last shutdown, in 2013, lasted for 16 days as Republicans tried unsuccessfully to force changes to the Affordable Care Act. A government shutdown causing employee furloughs has never occurred under unified party control of Congress and the White House.

Friday’s vote followed a day lacking the tense discussions and spirited closed-door meetings that typically precede important legislative deadlines. While President Trump met with Schumer about a possible deal on Friday afternoon, their discussion produced no resolution, and Trump quickly reaffirmed his support for the GOP spending plan to keep agencies open for 30 days.

In a tweet, Trump said the situation was “not looking good for our great Military or Safety & Security on the very dangerous Southern Border” and claimed Democrats “want” a shutdown.

For most of Friday, most senators remained out of the loop and unsure of what to expect.

In the quiet hallways of the Capitol, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) shuttled between McConnell’s and Schumer’s offices, trying to secure support for a spending bill to last through Feb. 8. The talks were “on the ten-yard line on a lot of issues,” Graham said.

At the same time, as the evening wore on, several Democrats said they would support the GOP bill.

Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Doug Jones (Ala.), all of whom face tough paths to reelection in states that supported Trump, voted to end debate on the bill.

Meanwhile, four Republicans voted against ending debate: Sens. Graham (S.C.), Rand Paul (Ky.), Mike Lee (Utah) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.).

Before the vote, most Democrats seemed to view a shutdown as inevitable.

“My guess is it probably won’t go much past the first of the week, in which case the disruption won’t be particularly severe, “ said Rep. John Yarmuth (Ky.), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.

He predicted a solution to keep the government open for a short period “within a few days.”

“It’s going to be a function of whether Paul Ryan is willing to actually demonstrate some leadership and figure out what his conference is willing to compromise on and the same with Mitch,” he said.

On the Senate floor, Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) let his frustration with the stalemate show in an unusually frank comment.

“This is the greatest country in the world, but we do have some really stupid people representing it from time to time,” he said. “I probably have gone too far saying that, but it’s true and it’s disappointing to me.”

Trump and the Republicans, who control all levers of government, faced the possibility of a shutdown on the first anniversary of his inauguration. According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, Americans by a 20-point margin blame Trump and the GOP over Democrats if the government closes.

At 7 p.m., about 150 protesters gathered outside the Capitol to hear Democrats promise not to back any spending deal that did not grant legal status to “dreamers.”

“This is a movement,” said Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). “We’re going to have some good days, and we’re going to have some bad days. And like every movement that has allowed our country to progress, we are going to have to fight.”

Preparations for a shutdown had taken place throughout the day.

The Trump administration drew up plans to keep national parks and monuments open despite a shutdown as a way to blunt public anger, and congressional staffers received formal notice that they may be furloughed starting at midnight.

At the White House, Trump delayed his departure for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The president had intended to leave Washington late Friday afternoon ahead of a lavish celebration of his first year in office that is planned for Saturday night.

With the House scheduled to be out of session next week, several leaders had planned trips abroad. Vice President Pence left for Israel and Egypt on Friday, Ryan was scheduled to visit Iraq, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) were to accompany Trump to the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort village of Davos.

McCarthy spokesman Matt Sparks said the Davos trip would be canceled in the event of a government shutdown.

[Crispin]

Washington post? It must be fake!

OT: fucking lol, so much for Trumps “im da best negotiatoor”

[yetgdhfgh]

I hope the dems know what they are doing with this cause this could easily blow up in there faces and the Republicans are masters at playing the whole victim card especially Trump!

[schwarzkopf]

Already a mega thread on it:

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...-of-foreigners

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I hope the dems know what they are doing

This is ENTIRELY on the GoP and more specifically the President ...

[Zan15]

Already a mega thread on it:

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...-of-foreigners

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This is ENTIRELY on the GoP and more specifically the President ...

bait topic the other one should have been closed

[GennGreymane]

Already a mega thread on it:

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...-of-foreigners

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This is ENTIRELY on the GoP and more specifically the President ...

That thread seemed more baity than substantive. I prefer to be substantive.

[schwarzkopf]

That thread seemed more baity than substantive. I prefer to be substantive.

It is the same topic, the same content will end up in this thread or the other.

[GennGreymane]

It is the same topic, the same content will end up in this thread or the other.

Not sure why the mods are letting a bait thread stay up to discuss this.

[Sunseeker]

Fundamentally the Democrats are fighting from a position of weakness (a slim minority). Their best approach remains to simply be silent and stick to their demands. Giving up ground now will lead to Republicans taking more ground in future budget negotiations (and in everything else). If the Democrats can remain a united front (always their biggest problem) the Republicans could never get the 60 votes to stop debate and thus the Republicans would eventually have to give in to Democrat demands, or the government would never be funded and ultimately that would reflect poorly on the majority party (as it did for the Democrats in 2013) since they're seen as the "ones in charge".

[Milchshake]

It is the same topic, the same content will end up in this thread or the other.

That thread never explained who Democrates was.

Sounds like the Byzantine saint of "woke independents", explaining all the time why both Rome and Constantinople were bad.

Died of syphilis because the Huns denied him healthcare.

TLDR, that other thread was started like a VD.

[Lenonis]

I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that the party who openly admitted they didn't know how to govern after being an obstructionist party under Obama failed to govern.

[Milchshake]

Anyways, is Mitch McConnell really a serious politician?
First he make a fake promise to Sen. Susan Collins to get her vote on the tax bill. Sorry kids, healthcare will have to wait.

Jeff Flake was promised a DACA vote this month. Then GOP leadership switched it up on him. Here are his thoughts tonight, hours before the shutdown deadline:


I need to check McConnell's poll numbers, are they at Trumpian levels? The shutdown seems to be laying with those two the most.

MAking Paul Ryan look like the adult of the Party.

[Masark]

I need to check McConnell's poll numbers, are they at Trumpian levels?

Doesn't matter. He isn't up for reelection until 2020.

[PACOX]

Trump spoke to “Fox & Friends” in 2013 and was asked who would be fired during a government shutdown, as shown in a clip posted by "Morning Joe."

“Well, if you say who gets fired it always has to be the top,” Trump said. “I mean, problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top and the president’s the leader. And he’s got to get everybody in a room and he’s got to lead.”

He said that further down in history, “when they talk about the government shutdown, they’re going to be talking about the president of the United States, who the president was at that time.”

“They’re not going to be talking about who was the head of the House, the head the Senate, who’s running things in Washington,” Trump said.

“So I really think the pressure is on the president,” he added.

Quoted from reddit, Trump on Trump

[Zaydin]

The Trump shitshow shutdown has begun! Such a great dealmaker, he is! /s

[Skroe]

The Trump Shutdown is a fitting 1 year anniversary achievement for President Stable Genius.

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I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that the party who openly admitted they didn't know how to govern after being an obstructionist party under Obama failed to govern.

The fault for this lies largely in Mitch McConnell.

McConnell's problem is that he would be (and was) the ultimate Whip. He's the guy to twist arms and get votes of ones own back bench. When that was his job, he was second to none.

As Republican Leader though, which requires a different kind of politics - across the asile relationship building - he pales inc omparisons to his predecessors.

The Senate is designed to be based around trust and relationships. That was its intent. McConnell is an intrinsically untrustworthy guy.

Of course, going back in time, it does take two to tango and Harry Reid helped create this mess, but that's crying over split milk at this point.

I'll say it again. Government will be better when McConnell, Pelosi, Obama, and Reid are gone. Two down, two to go.

[Edge-]

Well, I guess Trump is getting that "good shutdown" he wanted back in September.

Too bad he'll miss partying with his "special people" on the anniversary of his inauguration as a result. I can only imagine the fits of rage he's been throwing all night over that.

[Moshots]

Its funny how much people are making out of the Republicans controlling the house/senate..

without realizing that since that bama election its 51-47-2 (both IND Lean hard Democrat Shit one is Bernie) so basically 51-49 and with Mccain recovering from Cancer its 50-49....

Given that other dude who has been with Mccain blocking everything (forgot his name) in the senate right now who are leaning with the democrats right now the Democrats pretty much have a 50-49 lead in the senate which is exactly how it voted... 50-49 against the bill.

[Edge-]

Given that other dude who has been with Mccain blocking everything

Um...what other dude? And blocking "everything"? The only thing McCain "blocked" was the attempt to repeal the ACA. And he voted with two women, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Beyond that, he's voted with the GOP on every single other vote of consequence.

[Moshots]

Um...what other dude? And blocking "everything"? The only thing McCain "blocked" was the attempt to repeal the ACA. And he voted with two women, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Beyond that, he's voted with the GOP on every single other vote of consequence.

The other dude from arizona has voted with Mccain on like everything and he voted against the shit today. Jeff flake (his name matches what he is to the party)