BUDGET/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawmakers on Monday entered the third day of the government shutdown planning a noon vote in the Senate to break the impasse, in an effort to prevent it from hardening into a prolonged standoff that would become increasingly difficult to resolve.
Republicans have proposed a bill that would reopen the government for three weeks, but Democrats haven’t agreed to that without a path forward for legislation that would protect the so-called “Dreamers,” young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The Senate is expected to take a procedural vote on the three-week bill at noon on Monday, but it is unclear if Republican leaders will line up the 60 votes they need to clear procedural hurdles and pass the spending bill.
A group of centrist senators from both parties met earlier Monday ahead of the vote, in an attempt to chart a way out of the stalemate. The group of more than 20 senators met over the weekend. Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) said he wanted those centrist Republicans to push Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) to an immigration debate…
Mr. Trump has expressed desire to protect the young immigrants, but wants additional immigration measures as part of any deal, beyond funding for the border wall he campaigned on. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said he made significant concessions to Mr. Trump on Friday, including offering funding to build a wall along the border, but the president rejected it… The White House disputed Mr. Schumer’s account.”
-Natalie Andrews, Kristina Peterson, and Siobhan Hughes, “Senate Plans Noon Vote on Spending Bill Without Clear Democratic Support,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 22, 2018 09:38am