House Democrats are predicting Republicans are about to start buckling in the fight over border wall funding, when Democrats on Wednesday start taking up bills that would reopen partially shuttered government agencies and departments.
“We expect that number will cross into double figures today and as the week proceeds,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., when asked how many Republicans will join them in votes to reopen the government.
The House will vote late Wednesday on legislation that would fund the Financial Services Appropriations bill, which pays for the operation of independent agencies including the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Small Business Administration, and many others.
Democrats will take up three additional spending bills this week and three more next week, which combined will fully fund the agencies that are still awaiting final funding for this fiscal year. None of the legislation includes money for border wall funding, which Trump said would be required to earn his signature.
The wave of bills represent the second attempt by House Democrats to pressure the GOP and Trump to cave in on the wall fight.
A week ago, the House took up legislation without wall funding that would fund six of seven unfunded appropriations bills that garnered seven Republican votes. A second bill to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security, also without wall funding, won five GOP votes.
Democrats believe Republicans are under growing pressure to end the shutdown, which began Dec. 22 at midnight. Several departments and dozens of smaller agencies have been partially closed and paychecks will lapse beginning Friday, which will leave 800,000 employees without regular income.
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“As this really hits home as this first paycheck is going to be missed, we think Republicans are starting to respond and understand we need a comprehensive immigration reform plan, we need to have the discussion about national security, but not while holding our federal employees hostage,” said Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass.
Republicans have thus far pledged to stay united in opposing this week’s spending bills. Republican leaders said they anticipate very few GOP lawmakers will cross the aisle and vote for the Democratic spending bills.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he won’t take up the House passed bills, but a few Republican senators, including Susan Collins of Maine and Cory Gardner of Colorado said they’d vote on spending bills that did not include wall funding in order to get the government reopened. Both Collins and Gardner are up for re-election in 2020.
Trump will meet with Republican Senate lawmakers Wednesday to help keep the party behind him in resisting the Democrats.
But Democrats believe even Trump will cave in as the impact of the partial shutdown increasingly hobbles the federal government and leaves workers financially struggling.
The Trump administration has sought to blunt the impact of the partial closure, but services will begin to be curtailed due to lack of funding or workers who refuse to show up.
Security lines at airports have increased, for example, thanks to TSA agent sickouts. The agents would normally receive their pay from the Department of Homeland Security.
“January 11, Friday, 800,000 people are going to be going without a paycheck,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D- Ill. “Those are our friends, colleagues, workers, loved ones. They all have mortgage payments, rent payments, they have to make ends meet.”
The impact will also resonate with stores that rely on federal employees as customers, he added.
“All kinds of people are going to be affected, Krishnamoorthi said. “Not just those people who are not receiving a paycheck. That hopefully will be something the president responds to.”
