House and Senate lawmakers geared up for another round of negotiations to end the government shutdown as it enters its second day, gearing up for a rare Sunday session aimed at striking a deal on spending and immigration that would reopen federal agencies ahead of the work week.
The prospects of an agreement seemed slightly less daunting Sunday morning as the fragile outlines of a potential deal began to take shape.
On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said the lower chamber has agreed to accept a short-term deal that would fund the government through Feb. 8 if the Senate is able to pass such a bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the Senate will vote on a Feb. 8 bill at 1 a.m. Monday.
Senate Democrats are unlikely to support a revised bill without concessions on immigration from the GOP. On Saturday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina hinted at one possibility: a bill that would fund the government in exchange for a commitment to move onto immigration after Feb. 8.
Where things stand on Day 2
- Ryan says House would support short-term deal
- House and Senate to reconvene in rare Sunday session
- Trump calls on Senate to abolish filibuster
- McConnell schedules Senate vote for 1 a.m. on continuing resolution
“After extensive discussions with Senators, on both sides of the aisle, I believe such a proposal would pass if it was understood that after February 8, the Senate would move to an immigration debate with an open amendment process if no agreement has been reached with the White House and House of Representatives,” Graham said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday, Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement as federal agencies began implementing shutdown procedures. McConnell told reporters that lawmakers would be “right back at it” for “as long as it takes.”
“We will keep at this until Democrats end their extraordinary filibuster of government funding and children’s healthcare, and allow a bipartisan majority of Senators to reopen the federal government for all Americans and get Congress back on track,” McConnell said Saturday on the Senate floor. Senate Democrats say they will not support a funding resolution that does not include protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children under the DACA program and spending for disaster relief.A
Follow along below for updates on the shutdown. All times Eastern unless otherwise noted.
1:18 p.m.: Schumer calls Trump a “dysfunctional president” on Senate floor
“This political catch-22 never seen before has driven our governemtn to dysfunction,” says Schumer of talks with President Trump
He says that the dysfunction in Washington creates the “chaos and gridlock we see today.” He adds that Mr. Trump’s “inability to clinch a deal has created the Trump shutdown.”
“He can’t take yes for an answer,” said Schumer of Mr. Trump’s waffling on immigration legislation, adding that the president “walked away from 2 bipartisan deals” on a DACA fix.
Schumer slammed Mr. Trump as being “unwilling to compromise” but said he was “willing to seal the deal” and “sit and work right now” with the president or anyone he designates. “Let’s get it done,” he added.
Schumer then pivoted to U.S. military members being unable to receive pay during the shutdown. He blamed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for “preventing our troops from being paid.”
“You don;t want to use the troops as hostages. Some on he other side may be doing just that,” he added.
1:00 p.m.: Senate back in session, watch live now
The Senate resumes its negotiations on funding the federal government. Watch live above to see floor speeches on Capitol Hill.
12:05 p.m.: Durbin calls on Trump to “lead” during shutdown
Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois called on the president to “step up and lead us” out of the government shutdown. On “Face the Nation,” Durbin said that he was “sorry” lawmakers were in the current situation, adding that Senate Democrats were working on a funding deal “on a bipartisan basis.”
Read more from Durbin’s interview here.
12:00 p.m.: Mulvaney defends “cool” shutdown comments
Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), defended comments he made on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Friday in which he said it was “kind of cool” to find out he was the person who technically shuts down the federal government. The OMB is responsible for overseeing shutdown procedures for federal agencies. He explained on “Face the Nation” that his comment was “interesting from an academic standpoint.”
He added that the administration has been “very straight forward since the beginning that we don’t want this shutdown.”
Read more from Mulvaney’s interview here.
10:42 a.m.: Ryan says House would support short-term spending deal
House Speaker Paul Ryan on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Jan. 21, 2018.
CBS News
On “Face the Nation,” Ryan said the House would accept a proposed bill that would fund the government through Feb. 8 if the Senate is able to pass such a measure. The House passed a bill to extend funding until Feb. 16 which the Senate rejected, kicking off the shutdown.
‘What Leader McConnell is going to be offering is one that has a different date on it,” Ryan told host John Dickerson. “We passed a bill keeping things funded until Feb. 16. He is going to bring up a bill keeping things funded until Feb. 8. We’ve agreed that we would accept that in the House. And so, we will see sometime today whether or not they have the votes for that. And that’s really where we are right now.”
9:30 a.m.: Pence tells troops he’s confident shutdown will be “fixed”
While speaking to U.S. troops overseas during his visit to the Middle East on countering the Islamic State Group (ISIS), Vice President Mike Pence commented on the government shutdown, saying he was confident the administration was “going to get this fixed.”
“The minority in the Senate decided to play politics with military pay, you deserve better,” he told the troops. “You shouldn’t have to worry one minute about if you’re going to be paid.”
Pence said that the administration won’t negotiate a possible immigration deal with Democrats until “they give you and your families the wages you’ve earned.”
“President Trump and I will do whatever it takes to defend you and your families. You can be confident we’re going to get this fixed. We’re going to meet our obligations to you and your families,” added Pence.
8:25 a.m.: Sanders: Pentagon restores American Forces Network
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the American Forces Network has resumed service for those overseas serving in the U.S. military ahead of Sunday’s NFL conference championship games.
The network provides TV and radio service to U.S. military members and their dependents stationed overseas, regularly broadcasting Sunday football games for fans in the military. The resource was deemed non-essential during the government shutdown and thus was subject to being turned off during the funding disputes.
The network restored service after backlash on social media over servicemembers’ inability to watch Sunday’s games.
Dana W. White, Chief DoD Spokesperson, said in a statement that “We will continue to find solutions to support our troops at home and abroad. Congress must come to a resolution, support our troops and pass a budget soon.”
White added, “he shutdown requires us to do a lot of tedious work. Congress needs to pass a budget.”
7:42 a.m.: Trump calls for nuclear option in Senate
Hours before Congress is set to reconvene, President Trump again blamed Democrats for the shutdown and called on the Senate to eliminate the 60-vote threshold with the so-called “nuclear option” to abolish the filibuster:
However, even with a threshold of 51 votes, it’s not guaranteed Republican leaders in the Senate would be able to achieve a simple majority, given their razor-thin margin in the upper chamber.
Stefan Becket and Emily Tillett contributed to this report.
