Thread: Live Updates – Schumer Amnesty Shutdown: Washington on Edge as Cliff Approaches

UPDATE 7:35 P.M.


Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is coming under serious fire as well, as she continues to refuse to say whether she will vote for a government shutdown–or whether she will vote for cloture on the House-passed funding bill that has bipartisan support as well backing from several of her Senate colleagues. She keeps refusing to answer.

UPDATE 7:33 P.M.


White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is calling out Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) for his intransigence against the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill, and his refusal to stand with Democrats and Republicans alike to vote for keeping the government open. It remains to be seen whether Tester will vote for a government shutdown at 10 p.m. this evening when the Senate considers cloture on the House-passed funding bill, but some reports have said that Tester will vote against it.
Meanwhile, on CNN, Sen. Tom Carper (D-MD) announced his plans to vote against cloture on the bill–and for a government shutdown.
UPDATE 7:26 P.M.


The far-left of the Senate Democratic conference–Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR)–are holding a rally with so-called DREAMer illegal aliens outside the capitol right now:

But the rankled Democratic Senate conference will be holding a closed-door meeting at 8:30 p.m. tonight as Schumer struggles to hold his team together:


UPDATE 7:23 P.M.


The silence from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) is deafening. He continues to refuse to say whether he supports keeping the government open, or whether he will vote for a government shutdown by voting against cloture on the House-passed government funding bill at 10 p.m. on Friday night when the Senate votes.

He has been silent all day since late Thursday when the House voted. Nelson’s intransigence severely jeopardizes his general election chances in Florida, a state in which President Trump soundly crushed Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016’s presidential election. Nelson is likely to face Florida Gov. Rick Scott in the general election next year, and his silence on this matter is not helpful to his re-election chances. It provides Scott a giant bludgeon with which to beat him up on the campaign trail this year.



UPDATE 7:19 P.M.


Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is facing even more criticism for her intransigence, and refusal to vote against a government shutdown.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is flashing back to this 2013 tweet from Stabenow, where she criticized Republicans for a shutdown:

If Stabenow votes against cloture at 10 p.m. tonight on the government funding bill passed by the House, she is responsible for exactly what she accused Republicans of in 2013–and she is personally responsible for the government shutdown that results.



UPDATE 7:14 P.M.


White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah, on CNN, notes that the Democrat intransigence against this legislation is unexplainable and unacceptable. Shah notes that this exact bill would get wide support from all the Democrat senators if Barack Obama was still president, and that Obama would sign it. The only reason why any Democrats are still holding out, Shah said, is because they “hate” Donald Trump, the duly elected President of the United States of America.


“These are measures that they [Democrats] would support as standalones,” Shah said, adding that the Democrats’ feckless attempts to add “amnesty for illegal aliens” into the government funding debate is creating “chaos” just like Schumer said in 2013 it would.
The clock is ticking. It remains to be seen whether Democrats will shut down the government.



UPDATE 7:10 P.M.


The U.S. Senate has scheduled the vote for 10 P.M. ET.

UPDATE 6:48 P.M.


There are 51 yes votes now in the U.S. Senate for the House-passed government funding bill. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) intend to vote against it, they say now, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is in Arizona right now amid health issues related to his recent diagnosis of brain cancer. But even without Paul and Graham and McCain, Republicans have 48 likely yes votes (depending on where Jeff Flake is–which is still up in the air). Add in the now three public Democrat yes votes, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) with the 48 other Republicans and there are 51 votes for the legislation. Vice President Mike Pence would be vote 52, which means all the United States government needs is eight more Democrats to come out for the legislation.
What all of this means, of course, is that if the Senate Democrats do not end up voting en masse for the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill then the Democrats are personally responsible for shutting the government down over something as unpopular as amnesty for illegal aliens.



UPDATE 6:40 P.M.


Now that three Senate Democrats–Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Joe Donnelly (D-IN)–are on board with the bipartisan House-passed plan to keep the government open, pressure is ramping up nationwide on obstructionist Democrats party-wide.

Even Senators from far-flung states like Washington State, where Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell represent, are under fire from their state GOP to side with the growing group of bipartisan lawmakers and vote against a government shutdown along bipartisan lines. It would be politically disastrous for any Democrat in the Senate to vote against this bill when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brings it up for a cloture vote on Friday evening.

NEW POLL: Majority of Americans say funding a budget and avoiding a #SchumerShutdown is more important than DACA. @PattyMurray and @SenatorCantwell — please listen to the people! https://t.co/6mKGiSlUMT
— Washington State GOP (@WAGOP) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 6:35 P.M.


Another Democrat just broke with Chuck Schumer, and announced her intention to vote for the bipartisan House-passed spending bill.

Sen. Heiti Heitkamp (D-ND), a vulnerable Democrat up for re-election in 2018, announcing her intention to vote for the bill is a horrendous sign for Schumer amid his efforts to try to hold the line against the bill. This imperils Democrats even more, and makes it even harder for people like Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Doug Jones (D-AL), and more to vote to shut down the federal government on Friday night. Schumer’s wall is crumbling.


UPDATE 6:30 P.M.


Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) drops the hammer on Chuck Schumer in a series of vicious tweets detailing how the Democrats would be personally responsible for anything that happens as a result of a potential looming government shutdown.


UPDATE 6:24 P.M.


Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), a leftist Democrat who represents a state that President Trump won in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, is facing serious criticism back home in Michigan for her announced intention to vote against the House-passed government funding bill that would keep the government open.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is having serious problems holding his conference together on this vote.

And again, if Stabenow does end up voting to shut down the federal government late Friday, she is likely to face serious consequences from Michiganders in a state where she was expected previously to have no problems electorally before now.


UPDATE 6:13 P.M.


The silence of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is deafening, as her likely general election opponent in 2018’s midterm elections Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley–a conservative Republican–hammers away at her:

It remains to be seen if McCaskill will vote to shut down the government, or if she will vote alongside her Democrat colleagues Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin–along with six House Democrats–for the House-passed government funding bill.


UPDATE 6:11 P.M.


President Trump and Speaker Ryan reportedly spoke recently about potential other options than the House-passed bill:

But Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn says to expect a likely vote on the House-passed bill:

So does the White House’s Marc Short:

Meanwhile, Jeff Flake–a vehemently anti-Trump outgoing senator who was reportedly against the House-passed bill–is now apparently open to it as at least two Democrats, Joe Manchin and Joe Donnelly, are now in favor of it:

UPDATE 5:29 P.M.


Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not spoken all day Friday ahead of the all important vote to keep the government open.


UPDATE 5:24 P.M.


President Trump just tweeted this:

But on CNN right now, OMB director Mick Mulvaney says “not much changed throughout the day” and that the Senate is moving forward with a cloture vote soon to pass the House-passed government funding bill.


Mulvaney adds the “only way to avoid” any government shutdown is for the Senate to pass the House-passed government funding bill. The Senate could pass that right now, if Democrats vote for a bill that contains nothing they oppose.


UPDATE 5:22 P.M.


Up in Pennsylvania, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)–another Democrat facing a tough re-election in a state President Trump won in 2016–is under serious fire for dishonest comments he made about a looming government shutdown the Democrats are aiming to cause.

Casey is attempting to put pressure on Republicans here, but it is Democrats like him–and his leader, Chuck Schumer–who hold the power to keep the government open.


There are countless more absurd tweets from Casey on his Twitter account. But his inaccurate comments are not going unchecked. Now, Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA)–a pro-Trump Republican congressman from Central Pennsylvania–is stepping forward to call out his hypocrisy.

“I’m sure Senator Casey knows that Senate rules require 60 votes to pass spending legislation,” Barletta said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “Republicans only hold 51 seats in the Senate. It is impossible to get to 60 without Democrat support. Republicans passed a Continuing Resolution through the House without needing Democratic support, but that can’t happen in the Senate. If at least 10 Democrats don’t come to the table, then those Senators who vote no will be solely responsible for shutting down the government. If Bob Casey votes to shut down the government, Casey will be denying health insurance for more than 342,268 children to protect 4,900 illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians should be furious.”
If Casey moves forward with his plan to vote against the House-passed government funding bill–which contains nothing he or other Democrats oppose–and for a government shutdown, Casey will likely face serious consequences on the campaign trail in 2018.


UPDATE 5:16 P.M.


Democrats’ electoral advantage nationwide, as their party aims to send America into chaos with a government shutdown, is slipping dramatically already.

The Democrats may be seriously overplaying their hands here, right into GOP efforts–and efforts by President Trump–to hold the GOP majority in the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections. After gubernatorial election wins in November in New Jersey and Virginia, and a shocking special election senatorial victory in Alabama as well as a statehouse election victory in Wisconsin, Democrats looked poised for a big 2018. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s actions here–as well as those of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats–are jeopardizing Democrats’ chances in 2018 in November at the polls.


UPDATE 5:11 P.M.


Now reports are emerging that the red state Democrats in tough re-election battles are struggling so badly with their party’s responsibility for a looming government shutdown that they are working to withhold pay for Congress during a shutdown:




UPDATE 5:08 P.M.


Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), a red state Democrat up for re-election in 2018 in a state President Trump won big time over Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, is under serious fire back home in Montana for his stated plans to vote against the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill. Matt Rosendale, the leading GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in Montana who is likely to face Tester in the November general election, is now slamming Tester for his plans to vote for a government shutdown–something that will hurt Montanans.

“Jon Tester had a chance to work with President Trump to keep the government open and secure funding for the 44,000 Montana children who rely on CHIP. Instead, he will vote with Chuck Schumer and other liberal Democrats to shut down the government,” Rosendale told Breitbart News. “Senator Tester chose to play politics rather than work with President Trump to do what is right for our state. That’s not the Montana way. Our state deserves a senator who means business and won’t put up with these nonsense political games.”


UPDATE 4:55 P.M.


This thing could go down to the wire–or over the line past midnight, when current government funding runs out:
But there is a reported sense of calm in the Capitol before the storm:

Perhaps most importantly, new details are emerging from Schumer’s meeting with Trump at the White House that show how desperate the Democratic leader is before a looming government shutdown. Schumer, per Fox News’ John Roberts and Chad Pergram, apparently attempted to change the subject off DACA in his meeting with Trump to a number of other issues. That fact is evidence that the Democrats are aware of how unpopular their position really is, and how bad of a situation in which they find themselves:


UPDATE 4:51 P.M.


Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is severely jeopardizing his re-election chances, as CNN’s Manu Raju reports he supports voting against the House-passed government funding bill for a government shutdown.

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are currently hiding, not saying where they stand. It remains to be seen if they will vote to shut down the government–and it remains to be seen if Tester will hold his position now that is abundantly clear the House bill has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Six House Democrats voted for the House funding bill, and now two Senate Democrats–Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN)–openly support it. Schumer’s hold on his conference is slipping.