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Senate Republicans announce bill to end shutdown on Trump's terms Shutdown has ‘hindered’ FBI’s ability to conduct operations, union says
(about 5 hours later)
Senate Republicans have released a measure designed around Donald Trump’s proposal for breaking a budget impasse, its centerpiece his demand for $5.7bn to build a southern border wall, which all but guarantees Democratic opposition and no foreseeable end to a partial government shutdown. A union representing FBI agents warned on Tuesday that the partial federal government shutdown has “hindered” the bureau’s ability to conduct operations and pursue investigations. Thousands of union members are among hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors now without pay for a fifth week.
As the shutdown dragged into its 32nd day, a clear record, another missed paycheck loomed for hundreds of thousands of workers. Voting in Congress was not expected to unfold until later in the week. Even then it seemed doubtful that the 1,300-page Senate measure, the “End the Shutdown and Secure the Border Act”, had any chance of passing swiftly.
Senate Republicans hold a 53-47 majority but would need Democrats to reach the usual 60-vote threshold for bills to advance. Not a single Democrat publicly expressed support for Trump’s proposal since he announced it over the weekend. Democratic leadership rejected it before he spoke.
Details of the measure released late on Monday highlight the trade-off of border wall funding for temporary protection from deportation for some immigrants. The Republican package would reopen the shuttered parts of the government and boost some spending. To try to draw more bipartisan support, it adds $12.7bn in supplemental funding for regions hit by hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters.
The office of the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, reiterated earlier on Monday that Democrats are unwilling to negotiate any border security funding until Trump reopens the government.
“Nothing has changed with the latest Republican offer,” Schumer’s spokesman, Justin Goodman, said. “President Trump and Senate Republicans are still saying: ‘Support my plan or the government stays shut.’ That isn’t a compromise or a negotiation – it’s simply more hostage taking.”
Shutdown: Trump 'amnesty' hint angers right and fails to draw DemocratsShutdown: Trump 'amnesty' hint angers right and fails to draw Democrats
While the House and the Senate are scheduled to be back in session on Tuesday, no votes have been scheduled on Trump’s plan. And senators, who will be given 24-hour notice ahead of voting, have yet to be recalled to Washington. As the FBI Agents Association released a report containing firsthand accounts of how the 32-day shutdown has affected operations, its president, Tom O’Connor, demanded Congress and Donald Trump fully fund the FBI.
McConnell’s spokesman, David Popp, said on Monday that the GOP leader “will move” to vote on consideration of the president’s proposal “this week”. “The failure to fund the FBI undermines essential FBI operations, such as those designated to combat crimes against children, drug and gang crime and terrorism,” O’Connor told reporters.
Trump, who on Sunday lashed out at the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, accusing her of acting “irrationally”, continued to single her out on Twitter. He declined to say whether Americans were less safe as a result of the shutdown.
“If Nancy Pelosi thinks that Walls are ‘immoral,’ why isn’t she requesting that we take down all of the existing Walls between the US and Mexico,” he wrote on Monday. “Let millions of unchecked ‘strangers’ just flow into the US.” “I will leave that question up to you to answer,” he said.
House Democrats this week are pushing ahead with voting on their own legislation to reopen the government and add $1bn for border security – including 75 more immigration judges and infrastructure improvements – but no funding for the wall. The union’s plea came as the shutdown continued to affect government services across the country.
Trump later tweeted: “Democrats are kidding themselves (they don’t really believe it!) if they say you can stop Crime, Drugs, Human Trafficking and Caravans without a Wall or Steel Barrier. Stop playing games and give America the Security it deserves. A Humanitarian Crisis!”
Meanwhile, the impact of the shutdown, the longest ever, continued to ripple across the nation. The previous longest shutdown was 21 days in 1995-96, when Bill Clinton was president.
The Transportation Security Administration said the percentage of its airport screeners missing work hit 10% on Sunday, up from 3.1% on the comparable Sunday a year ago.The Transportation Security Administration said the percentage of its airport screeners missing work hit 10% on Sunday, up from 3.1% on the comparable Sunday a year ago.
The screeners, who have been working without pay, have been citing financial hardship as the reason they can’t report to work. Even so, the agency said it screened 1.78 million passengers on Sunday with only 6.9% having to wait 15 minutes or longer to get through security. The screeners, who are without pay, have been citing financial hardship as the reason they cannot report to work. Even so, the agency said it screened 1.78 million passengers on Sunday with only 6.9% having to wait 15 minutes or longer to get through security.
The shutdown had also threatened to disrupt plans for an annual Martin Luther King Jr Day service at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist church, where the civil rights leader was co-pastor with his father from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. The site is run by the National Park Service and had been closed. A grant from Delta Air Lines is keeping the church and associated sites, including the home where King was born, open through 3 February. In Washington, Senate Republicans released legislation designed to meet Trump’s offer to break the impasse and end the shutdown. The measure would include temporary relief from deportation for young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers and other threatened groups, in exchange for meeting the president’s demand for $5.7bn to build a southern border wall.
Trump on Saturday offered to extend temporary protections for young migrants brought to the US illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones for three years in exchange for $5.7bn for his border wall. But Democrats have vowed opposition to Trump’s wall, calling it an impractical, “medieval solution” to a “21st-century problem”.
Democrats said that the proposal for a three-year extension didn’t go nearly far enough and that Trump was using as leverage programs that he had targeted. Voting is not expected to unfold until later in the week. Even then it seems doubtful the 1,300-page Senate measure, the “End the Shutdown and Secure the Border Act”, has any chance of passing swiftly.
Meanwhile, some on the right, including the conservative commentator Ann Coulter, accused Trump of offering “amnesty”. Senate Republicans hold a 53-47 majority but would need Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold for bills to advance. Not a single Democrat has publicly expressed support for Trump’s proposal. Party leadership rejected it before he spoke.
“No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer,” Trump tweeted on Sunday, in response. He noted that he had offered temporary protections for the immigrants in question, but added: “Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else.” The office of the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, reiterated on Monday that Democrats are unwilling to negotiate until Trump reopens the government.
That statement led some to suggest that Trump might be open to including a potential pathway to citizenship for the young “Dreamer” immigrants in a future proposal to end the standoff. “Nothing has changed with the latest Republican offer,” spokesman Justin Goodman said. “President Trump and Senate Republicans are still saying: ‘Support my plan or the government stays shut.’ That isn’t a compromise or a negotiation – it’s simply more hostage taking.”
Asked in an interview on Fox News Sunday whether Trump’s proposal represented a “final offer”, Vice-President Mike Pence said the White House was willing to negotiate. McConnell’s spokesman, David Popp, said on Monday that the GOP leader “will move” to vote on consideration of the president’s proposal “this week”.
“Well, of course,” Pence said. “The legislative process is a negotiation.” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley was asked by Fox News on Tuesday if Trump had given McConnell his word he would sign the legislation if it cleared both houses.
“Well, that’s a big if,” Gidley said. “We don’t know what the final bill would look like. But the president has been clear about what he wants.”
On Twitter, Trump wrote: “Never seen [McConnell] and Republicans so united on an issue as they are on the Humanitarian Crisis & Security on our Southern Border. If we create a Wall or Barrier which prevents Criminals and Drugs from flowing into our Country, Crime will go down by record numbers!”
The president has lashed out at the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, accusing her of acting “irrationally”. House Democrats are pushing ahead with voting on their own legislation to reopen the government and add $1bn for border security – including 75 immigration judges and infrastructure improvements – but no funding for the wall.
The status of the annual state of the union address remains unclear, one week after Pelosi requested that Trump postpone it. On Tuesday, Fox News reported that the White House sent a letter to the House sergeant-at-arms to schedule a walk-through for the address, which is due to be held on 29 January.
Gidley said Trump could deliver the address from another venue if Pelosi blocks him from doing so in the House chamber.
“There are many ways he can deliver the state of the union address,” Gidley said. “I’m not going to get ahead of anything he would announce.”
In his offer to Democrats on Saturday, Trump offered to extend temporary protections for Dreamers and those fleeing disaster zones. On Tuesday, the supreme court said it would not pick up a case concerning Trump’s previous attempt to end protection for Dreamers, meaning they will remain in limbo for the next few months.
US federal government shutdown 2019US federal government shutdown 2019
FBI
US SenateUS Senate
House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives
US CongressUS Congress
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi
Chuck Schumer
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