The partial government shutdown that started at midnight won’t end until President Trump
and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., end their standoff over the border wall.
That could be why Trump on Friday was warning of a “very long” shutdown.
Top GOP lawmakers have been largely sidelined in the talks, as the key is finding enough Senate Democratic votes to get some compromise through the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters he’s not the key player as he left the Capitol Friday night.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, we need Democratic votes and a presidential signature,” McConnell said.
But as the shutdown deadline neared Friday night, the two sides weren’t offering any indication that a deal was close. After meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, and OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, Schumer didn’t seem to budge.
“Leader Schumer reminded them that any proposal with funding for the wall will not pass the Senate,” a spokesman for Schumer said.
Trump has canceled his planned trip to his Florida resort in the hopes of finding some agreement and released a video Friday night to say he wants border wall funding and Democratic votes to get it through the Senate.
In the meantime, Schumer was urging Trump to give up plans for the wall and accept a spending bill that includes no new wall funding.
“President Trump, you will not get your wall,” Schumer said Friday. “Abandon your shutdown strategy. You’re not getting the wall today, next week, or on Jan. 3 when Democrats take control of the House.”
Both the House and Senate were mostly watching the drama and were set to be on standby over the weekend in case some compromise between “wall” and “no wall” could be found.
McConnell told Senate lawmakers he won’t summon them for a vote until a final deal is reached that can pass each chamber and win Trump’s signature. He instructed them to be available to return to the Capitol with 24 hours notice.
The Senate and House will convene at noon Saturday, but so far, they have nothing to do.
There’s lots of daylight between the two positions. Republicans in the House approved $5.7 billion for the border wall as part of a bill to fund several federal departments that as of midnight don’t have any funding approved by Congress.
Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., are pushing for a continuation of 2018 funds. That amounts to $1.3 billion for border security and a prohibition on using any of that money for a physical barrier — or, effectively, $0 for the border wall.
Both House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, say a deal will only come when both sides agree to a number between 0 and $5.7 billion.
Republicans are offering ideas on the side, but so far, none have stuck. Cornyn pitched the idea of taking up the border wall funding agreement that passed the Senate Appropriations Committee in June with the help of 10 Democrats. It provides $1.6 billion in border security.
But Trump earlier this month told Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the $1.6 billion is too low, Shelby told the Washington Examiner. Trump’s top border wall advocates in the House, Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also rejected the $1.6 billion figure.
“Obviously there are a whole lot of numbers being thrown around,” Meadows said. “I can tell you most conservatives are not supportive of going to a $1.6 billion restricted border wall funding measure.”
Just as Democrats are holding firm, Meadows and Jordan are calling on Trump not to let go of his goal either, raising the prospect of a shutdown that lasts through the holiday break.
“We know when it comes down to it, the American people are with us,” Jordan said. “I think that message will get through and we’re going to get something.”
