Senate and House lawmakers are digging in on opposing sides in a weekslong fight to fund the small part of the federal government that has now been shuttered for nearly three weeks.
It could go on for months.
“I’m thinking we might be in for a long haul here,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told reporters at the Capitol last week. “I’m not optimistic now.”
The fight centers on money for constructing a southern border wall that President Trump said he must have in exchange for signing legislation to fund about nine agencies and departments, including Homeland Security.
Congress has battled over federal funding many times over the decades, but this closure, which began on Dec. 23, could break a record.
The last lengthy shutdown occurred for 16 days in 2013 when House Republicans refused to back a spending bill without a provision to defund Obamacare.
Prior to 2013, there were many short closures over the decades and one long one, when consecutive funding fights shuttered the government for 27 days, from Nov. 14 to 19, 1995, and from Dec. 16 until Jan. 6, 1996.
The wall funding fight could drag the current closure on even longer.
There is no deal in sight, and both Democrats and Republicans appear resigned to a battle that could go on and on.
Shelby, arriving for the first day of the 116th Congress last week, suggested the fight to fully fund the government could last “for months and months,” while across the Capitol, the new House Democratic majority passed two bills to fully fund the lapsed agencies and departments that stand no chance of becoming law.
The two measures exclude money for a border wall, and Trump has threatened to veto the legislation.
“Not a single penny is included for any border wall,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said prior to the House vote. “It’s that simple.”
Across Pennsylvania Ave., Trump made the case for a border wall in a surprise appearance in the press briefing room.
“You can call it a barrier, you can call it whatever you want,” Trump said.
Trump said the public has called, written, and tweeted to him to build the wall, and he’s not backing down.
“Without a wall, you cannot have border security,” Trump said.
Border Patrol agents who came with the president to the briefing told the press that “walls work” and called on Congress to provide funding.
Trump and Republicans said they believe Democrats may be willing to negotiate now that Nancy Pelosi has won the election to Speaker and may be more willing to compromise.
The Trump administration has signaled flexibility on the funding amount. Trump has asked for up to $5 billion but appears willing to accept much less.
But Pelosi said she’ll never change her mind on zeroing out wall funding in spending legislation.
“How many more times can we say no?” Pelosi said on the “Today” show. “Nothing for the wall.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who must provide Democratic votes to pass a spending bill in the Senate, said Trump must get Mexico to pay for the wall, which he promised during his presidential run.
“The symbolism of the wall is bad for the country, for our economy, for our security, and for our ability to get along in the world,” Schumer added.
Pressure may build on Democrats to compromise. More than 800,000 federal employees are now going without pay, and the impact of the partial closures is expanding as the shutdown drags on.
In addition to Homeland Security, impacted agencies include Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Interior Department, which runs the federal parks.
“We need a bicameral, bipartisan, compromise solution,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. “We need an arrangement that can check these three boxes. Passage in the House, achieve the support of at least 60 Senators, and the president’s signature. It’s not complicated. That’s how you make a law.”
