Republican and Democratic lawmakers are increasingly worried that only some kind of disaster will be enough to force Congress to strike a deal to end the partial government shutdown, which has lasted nearly five weeks.
Lawmakers have blown past two possible pressure points without reaching a deal. One was the first missed paycheck for hundreds of thousands of federal workers earlier this month, and the other was President Trump’s State of the Union address, which was set for Jan. 29.
Now, some lawmakers say it might take some kind of catastrophe to force congressional action.
“I hate to put it this way, but I think if something bad happens, honestly. That’s obviously the ultimate pressure point,” said Rep Tom Cole, R-Okla., the top Republican on the House Rules Committee, when asked what might bring the two sides to an agreement. “It could be anything from food poisoning to an air accident. I think people genuinely want a solution.”
“There needs to be more of a sense of urgency in my view point,” he said. “It is extremely sad. This could have been avoided in December … I don’t see how anyone looks good in any of this.”
Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., predicted that a potential airline employee strike, or a strike of Transportation Security Administration workers, could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in negotiations.
“[An airline strike] tanks the economy, so I would think if that comes to pass, that would break the logjam really quickly,” Yarmuth said, noting the building chatter of a potential strike during the week of Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
“If there’s a threat and a strike on Super Bowl week, airline strike … That would move things very quickly,” he added.
The Senate on Thursday failed to pass two measures that would have reopened shuttered parts of the government. A proposal by the White House that included $5.7 billion for border security and a wall and three years of protections for 700,000 “Dreamers” and 300,000 covered by Temporary Protected Status earned only 50 of the 60 votes needed to advance. A Democratic proposal that didn’t include any wall money gained only earned 52 votes.
Some lawmakers believe the pressure point comes down to politics for both sides. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., argued Thursday that both President Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., need to realize it’s time to find some agreement.
“I think the pressure point is that both the president and the speaker have to figure out that they’re losing, and frankly, I think they both should have figured that out by now,” Blunt said. “They both have thought they were winning and one of them had to be wrong, and both of them are likely wrong.”
“Now, I’m sure they’re both wrong,” Blunt said.
