Author: Kelsey Snell / Source: NPR.org
Updated at 4:57 p.m. ET
Six days into a partial government shutdown, congressional Democrats and President Trump are showing no signs of reaching a deal to reopen the government.
Instead, it appears the shutdown could last until 2019.The president has only a few more days to advance any spending agreement with the help of full GOP control in Washington. Democrats take control of the House on Jan. 3, giving them significant new leverage over future spending talks.
But on Thursday afternoon, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House majority whip, advised members that no votes were expected in the House this week. Scalise also told lawmakers that while the House awaits Senate action on a spending bill, he will aim to provide members with 24 hours’ notice before any expected votes in the House. Representatives are likely to be waiting until next week as the Senate is not scheduled to be back in session until Jan. 2.
The House and Senate briefly opened for business Thursday afternoon, but the momentary sessions were hardly a sign of behind-the-scenes negotiation. The halls of Congress have been nearly empty in recent days, save for a skeleton crew of staff and lawmakers. Democrats say they are all waiting for Trump to abandon his demand for $5 billion to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
Trump is showing no signs of backing down. “The President has made clear that any bill to fund the government must adequately fund border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs, criminals, MS-13 gang members, child smugglers and human traffickers into our communities – and protect the American people,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon.
Sanders continued: “The Administration understands this crisis and made a reasonable, common-sense solution to Democrats five days ago – we’ve not received a single response. The President and his team stayed in Washington over Christmas hoping to negotiate a deal that would stop the dangerous crisis on the border, protect American communities, and re-open the government. The Democrats decided to go home. The only rational conclusion is that the…
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