BUDGET/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate standoff that sparked a three-day government shutdown ended Monday [1-22-18] when Democrats accepted GOP leaders’ assurance that they would bring an immigration bill to the floor in the coming weeks.
The agreement will keep the government running for several weeks, but did little to resolve the underlying policy fights over immigration and government-spending levels and doesn’t preclude a similar shutdown later this year.
On immigration, the deal also opened a rift in the Democratic Party between a left flank that wanted to hold out now for a deal on the young immigrants and a more centrist group eager to reopen the government and work out a bipartisan compromise.
In the day’s key vote, the Senate easily mustered the votes needed to cross a 60-vote threshold to advance the legislation, and then later passed the bill, which keeps the government funded through Feb. 8. Both tallies were 81-18, with two Republicans joining 15 Democrats and one independent in opposing the measure.
The House, as expected, then followed suit and approved the bill, 266-150. President Donald Trump was expected to sign the bill later Monday, effectively ending the shutdown.”
-Kristina Peterson, “Congress Passes Three-Week Spending Bill to End Shutdown,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 22, 2018 06:18pm