BUDGET: “A long-running fight over spending and immigration was headed for a showdown Friday [1-19-18], as Senate Democrats prepared to reject a short-term spending bill just hours before the government’s funding expires at midnight.
The House on Thursday evening passed, largely along party lines, a one-month spending bill by 230-197 votes that would keep the government funded through Feb. 16. But the bill was expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate Friday, given opposition from most Senate Democrats and some Republicans.
If that bill stalls, it isn’t clear yet whether lawmakers will then be able to pass an even briefer spending bill, perhaps lasting just a few days, to avoid shutting the government.
A government shutdown would mark the culmination of a struggle dating back to September, when President Donald Trump ended a program shielding the so-called Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents, from deportation. He gave Congress until March 5 to hash out a replacement.
Both parties and the president have been seeking to direct blame across the aisle if the government begins to close down Saturday morning… Mr. Trump postponed a scheduled trip Friday to his South Florida resort until after the spending bill passes Congress, a White House spokeswoman said.”
-Kristina Peterson, Natalie Andrews, and Siobhan Hughes, “Blame Game Begins as Budget Showdown Looms in Senate,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 19, 2018 09:58am