GOP Won’t Negotiate Immigration Until Shutdown Ends

The government will be closed Monday, though a procedural vote to end the Democrat filibuster is scheduled for noon Eastern.

After a weekend of legislative negotiations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced in the evening on Jan 21 a deal to allow a vote on a temporary continuing resolution through February 8.

“No offense to anyone involved, I know all those senators, I like them, but Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake don’t represent where the majority of Republicans in the Senate are, let alone here, so how can they be lead negotiators on that?” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., referring to Jeff Flake, a Republican senator from Arizona and another champion of Graham-Durbin. There are several of us working on a bipartisan bill.

“While this procedure will not satisfy everyone on both sides, it is a path forward”.

“It would be my intention to resolve these issues as soon as possible, so we can move on to other issues important to our country”, McConnell added, rattling off subjects like the budget for the military, disaster relief for hurricane and wildfire victims, and other major items.

The government shutdown will extend into the workweek as the Senate appeared to inch closer to ending a partisan stalemate late Sunday but fell short of agreement. McConnell said he intends to bring up free-standing immigration legislation in February.

The coming to terms was hinted at in the morning by Republican Sen.

The positive tone was a distinct departure from the hostile rhetoric elsewhere in the Senate earlier on Sunday.

Republicans had used Chip as leverage in the failed vote on Friday night to fund the government for four weeks.

Democrats said McConnell’s proposal was too vague on immigration, and they want a firmer commitment that the issue will be resolved. CHIP expired last fall. He was frustrated that Democrats had created “imaginary deadlines” for dealing with immigration, which is not a “do or die issue”, he said. “In fact, we’re not going to reopen negotiations on illegal immigration until they reopen the government and give you, our soldiers, and your families the benefits and wages you’ve earned”.

Democrats want Trump, who previous year ordered an end to DACA in March, to live up to an earlier agreement to protect the Dreamers.

“Unfortunately, we can not answer your call today because Congressional Democrats are holding government funding, including funding for our troops and other national security priorities, hostage to an unrelated immigration debate”, the message said.

“It’s impossible to negotiate with a constantly moving target”, he said. But most legislation requires 60 Senate votes to pass, giving Democrats leverage.Congress failed last year to pass a complete budget by October 1, the beginning of the federal fiscal year, and the government has been operating on a series of three stopgap spending bills.

“Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our Military and Safety at the Border”.

President Donald Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney called it “kind of cool” that he will be the one to personally oversee the shutdown, and Trump’s son Eric Trump said that as long as the public blames Democrats, the shutdown will be “a good thing for us“.

Republican leaders have promised their members in their respective chambers debates on two very different proposals. Those sources say at least three Democratic senators who were no’s before now plan to vote yes. The standoff stopped the passage of a funding bill centered on former Democratic President Barack Obama’s health care law.

“The president’s focus is making sure we get the government reopened”.

“What’s even more frustrating than President Trump’s intransigence is the way he seems amenable to these compromises before completely switching positions and backing off. Negotiating with President Trump is like negotiating with Jell-O”, Schumer said Saturday.