A partial government shutdown is just a few hours away as President Trump and lawmakers continue to negotiate a deal to fund government operations through the holidays. If the negotiations fail, parts of the federal government would experience the third shutdown of the year at midnight.
Earlier on Friday, Trump reaffirmed his demand for $5 billion to fund the construction of a wall along the border with Mexico. Trump set a combative tone with an early tweet:
Trump met with GOP lawmakers during the day and the situation was described as “very, very fluid” by Politico’s Jake Sherman.
Here’s where things stand on late Friday afternoon:
The House passed its own funding bill: House Republicans passed a bill that would give Trump $5.7 billion for wall construction, as well as $7.8 billion for disaster relief. The 217-185 party-line vote Thursday night was hailed by Republicans as a rebuke to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who told the president last week at a White House meeting that there wasn’t enough support to pass such a bill. “Nancy Pelosi learned two things today," Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) said. "First, it’s not 2009 anymore. Second, hubris is not the same as leadership – you don’t get to march into the Oval Office and dictate your demands without compromise.”
Shifting the blame: Although he earlier said he would take the blame for any shutdown – “I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” Trump told Democratic leaders, “I will take the mantle. I will shut it down, I’m not going to blame you for it.” – President Trump reversed course Friday, tweeting, “The Democrats now own the shutdown!”
It could last a while: President Trump warned that “there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time” if he doesn’t get the $5 billion he has demanded for the border wall. Chris Krueger of Cowen Research Group said Friday that if the government does partially shut down, “it is very hard to see how it would reopen before at least January 3” given the absence of lawmakers during the holiday. And even then, Trump will have to deal with a Democratic-controlled House, which will likely send him a funding bill that lacks money for the wall. “This shutdown could go on for a long time,” Kruger wrote in a note to clients.
But a compromise could be in the works: Lawmakers and administration officials were reportedly discussing a compromise bill that would fund the government and provide $1.6 billion for border security – which sounds a lot like a deal that was being considered several weeks ago. “So, it looks like this could end up at 1.6 for border security. Which is ..... exactly where it started,” Politico’s Sherman tweeted.
