Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will push ahead with a planned vote on a short-term fix for the ongoing government shutdown, coupled with a commitment to address immigration reform proposals within the next month.
“Today at noon, every senator can vote to end this government shutdown,” said McConnell, R-Ky., from the Senate floor Monday. “We will vote to end this filibuster and advance instead a bipartisan bill that would put this whole mess behind us.”
The pledge from the majority leader came as the shutdown entered its third day at the start of the federal work week and uncertainty about the situation continued to permeate the federal workforce.
With Democrats seeking legislation to address immigration coupled with any funding measure, McConnell said that it would be his “intention to take up legislation here in the Senate that would address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, border security and related issues, as well as disaster relief.”
“Let me be clear: This immigration debate will have a level playing field at the outset and an amendment process that’s fair to all sides,” he said.
Some moderate and Democratic senators had told ABC News Monday morning that they hoped McConnell would delay the vote to allow a little more time to work out a broader deal. The noon vote, a procedural vote requiring 60 votes which would allow for the government to re-open until Feb. 8, has already failed several times and Republicans will still need more than five additional votes by that time.
A group of bipartisan senators meeting Monday morning, however, emerged from talks in agreement that McConnell needed to clarify his immigration-related promises.
“We need a little bit more clarity,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said, to the agreement of some Republicans.
“I would encourage [McConnell] to try to [get firmer language,]” said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. “If [Democrats] can get language they’re comfortable with, I think we’ll have the government open.”
While Flake characterized McConnell’s effort as a “pretty high profile promise,” and some Democrats said that they felt additionally encouraged Monday, it was far from certain that a solution would come Monday.
“I was more negative yesterday, last night, than I was today,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. “Hopefully we can resolve this in the next day or two.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is holding a daily press briefing at 1:30 p.m., when she will likely weigh in on the vote and the status of negotiations.
“The president’s been very clear … on exactly what he wants,” Sanders said on “Good Morning America” today./a>.
“First and foremost we have to reopen our government. We have to fund our government. As soon as that is done, we’re more than happy to negotiate on responsible immigration reform,” she said.
The blame game was in full force this weekend, with President Donald Trump tweeting about how the shutdown began with the first anniversary of his inauguration: “Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown,” he wrote.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., weighed in that the president is not being well-served by staff in the negotiations over immigration issues that are key to resolving the impasse and reopening the government.
ABC News’ David Wright asked Graham if he meant Trump’s senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, a hardliner on immigration and close adviser on the issue to Trump.
“I’ll just tell you his view of immigration has never been in the mainstream of the Senate,” Graham said of Miller. “And I think we’re never going to get there as long as we embrace concepts that cannot possibly get 60 votes.”
The White House hit back, dismissing Graham’s comments and calling him an “outlier.”
“As long as Senator Graham chooses to support legislation that sides with people in this country illegally and unlawfully instead of our own American citizens, we are going nowhere. He’s been an outlier for years,” said White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley.
On Saturday evening, Eric Trump spoke to Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro about the shutdown, saying, “Honestly, I think it’s a good thing for us, because people see through it.”
“I mean, people have seen a year that’s incredible. It’s been filled with nothing but the best for our country, ‘America First’ policies, and they’re happy with where we are as a nation … It has the Democrats worried,” he said.
ABC News’ Meridith McGraw, Jordyn Phelps, David Caplan and Meghan Keneally contributed to this report.
