The fight over President Donald Trump’s $5 billion wall funds deepened Monday, threatening a partial government shutdown in a standoff that has become increasingly common in Washington.
It wasn’t always like this, with Congress and the White House at a crisis over government funding. The House and Senate used to pass annual appropriation bills, and the president signed them into law. But in recent years the shutdown scenario has become so routine that it raises the question: Have shutdowns as a negotiating tool lost their punch?
Monday brought few signs of progress. A partial shutdown that could occur at midnight Friday risks disrupting government operations and leaving hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay over the holiday season. Costs would be likely in the billions of dollars.
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Trump was meeting with his team and getting regular updates, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Trump was also tweeting Monday to keep up the pressure.
The president is insisting on $5 billion for the wall along the southern border with Mexico, but he does not have the votes from the Republican-led Congress to support it. Democrats are offering to continue funding at current levels, $1.3 billion.
It’s unclear how many House Republicans, with just a few weeks left in the majority before relinquishing power to House Democrats, will even show up mid-week for possible votes. Many say it’s up to Trump and Democrats to cut a deal.
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McConnell says he’s convinced government shutdown won’t happen -
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Pelosi says Democrats won’t accept ‘slush fund’ offer to prevent government shutdown -
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Schumer says ‘slush fund’ will be used by Trump for ‘radical’ immigration policies -
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McConnell says Pelosi preventing deal being reached to avert government shutdown
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opened the chamber Monday hoping for a “bipartisan collaborative spirit” that would enable Congress to finish its work.
“We need to make a substantial investment in the integrity of our border,” McConnell said. “And we need to close out the year’s appropriation process.”
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Meanwhile more than 800,000 government workers are preparing for the uncertainty ahead.
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The dispute could affect nine of 15 Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture, State and Justice, as well as national parks and forests.
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About half the workers would be forced to continue working without immediate pay. Others would be sent home. Congress often approves their pay retroactively, even if they were ordered to stay home.
“Our members are asking how they are supposed to pay for rent, food, and gas if they are required to work without a paycheck,” said a statement from J. David Cox, Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the large federal worker union. “The holiday season makes these inquiries especially heart-wrenching.”
Many agencies, including the Pentagon and the departments of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services, are already funded for the year and will continue to operate as usual, regardless of whether Congress and the president reach agreement this week.
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Congress already approved funding this year for about 75 percent of the government’s discretionary account for the budget year that began Oct. 1.
The U.S. Postal Service, busy delivering packages for the holiday season, wouldn’t be affected by any government shutdown because it’s an independent agency.
Trump said last week he would be “proud” to have a shutdown to get Congress to approve a $5 billion down payment to fulfill his campaign promise to build a border wall.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has refused.
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Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, in a meeting last week at the White House, suggested keeping funding at its current level, $1.3 billion. Trump had neither accepted nor rejected the Democrats’ offer, telling them he would take a look.
“He is not going to get the wall in any form,” Schumer said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He said Republicans should join in the Democrats’ offer. “Then, if the president wants to debate the wall next year, he can. I don’t think he’ll get it. But he shouldn’t use innocent workers as hostage for his temper tantrum.”
WATCH: Schumer says Trump wants shutdown over border wall funding
Schumer on Monday said he had yet to hear from Trump on whether he will accept the Democratic offer. Speaking on the Senate floor, he warned that “going along with the Trump shutdown is a futile act” because House Democrats would quickly approve government funding in January.
One option for lawmakers would be to provide stopgap funding for a few weeks, until the new Congress convenes Jan. 3, when Pelosi is poised to become House speaker.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who is in line to become the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, said suggested a stopgap bill could be one way to resolve the issue or a longer-term bill that includes money for border security.
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