It was back to the drawing board for Republicans and Democrats on Thursday, after the Senate killed two competing proposals for ending the government shutdown that has stretched for nearly five weeks.
Most Senate Republicans blocked a plan introduced by Democrats that would have funded partially closed government entities until Feb. 8, without giving the Trump administration any new money for a border wall. Republicans said President Trump would veto it, and it failed 52-44 — 60 votes were needed to advance the plan toward a final vote.
The Democratic plan did pick up “yes” votes from six Republican senators: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah.
Moments earlier, Democrats blocked a bill authored by Republicans and based on a proposal from Trump that would have provided government funding for the remainder of the fiscal year. That measure included $5.7 billion for a wall along the southwest border that Trump said is necessary for him to sign new spending legislation. Trump included in the proposal a three-year extension of legal protections for “Dreamers” and others living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status.
Democrats said the measure falls short of providing permanent legal status, and they also oppose changes made to the asylum program that would require applying in the country of origin rather than on the U.S. border. It failed 50-47, as it also couldn’t find 60 votes.
The Senate votes didn’t leave any obvious way forward on how to break the logjam. Trump on Wednesday said he would postpone his State of the Union address after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rescinded her invitation for him to appear on Jan. 29, and on Friday, hundreds of thousands of federal workers were set to miss their second paycheck under the shutdown.
Republicans and Democrats say they aren’t giving up on a bipartisan bill that can ultimately pass the Senate. “There are a number of us working on compromises to fix this whole problem,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.
But Trump’s demand for border wall funding has provoked a bitter partisan battle between the two parties. Democrats say the wall is “immoral,” “medieval,” and wasteful and are only willing to accept the deployment of technology on the border to boost security.
Republicans point out Democrats have backed wall funding in the past and argue they are simply fighting against Trump and his campaign promise to build a wall.
Democrats before the vote blocked a move by the GOP to pass a measure to pay the Coast Guard, which is the only branch of the military not getting paychecks during the shutdown because they fall under the Commerce Department and not the Pentagon. The Commerce Department is among the government entities that has not been funded since Dec. 22.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said the shutdown is based on Trump’s unfulfilled promise “over and over again” to have Mexico pay for the wall, and he rejected the idea that Democrats are soft on security. “This idea that Democrats are for open borders is gibberish.”
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