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

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

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Washington, D.C., is on edge this Friday as Senate Democrats barrel the United States of America toward a government shutdown at midnight.

The House of Representatives, on a bipartisan basis, passed a bill that keeps the government open with 230 votes–and now its fate rests in the hands of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Senate Democratic conference, who would be solely responsible for a government shutdown if it happens. The Senate overwhelmingly on Thursday evening voted for a motion to proceed onto the bill, but now the funding measure needs 60 Senators to vote for it to eventually pass. Since only 47 Republicans are definitely yea votes, that means Republicans need at least 13 Senate Democrats to vote to fund the government.



The Democrats are pushing for this shutdown because they are hellbent on getting amnesty for a significant population of illegal aliens who were recipients of the unlawful Barack Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive amnesty program. The White House and congressional Republicans have been more than willing to offer a deal and proposal to handle this problem, but the Democrats have been unwilling to give up chain migration, the visa lottery, and funding for President Trump’s planned border wall.
Breitbart News will bring live updates here as the country barrels over the shutdown cliff.



UPDATE 12:05 P.M.
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is blasting the politicians in Washington for their failures here.

.@SenOrrinHatch: "This is the greatest country in the world, but we do have some really stupid people representing it from time to time." pic.twitter.com/HcAQI6VKuS
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:03 P.M.
On the Senate floor moments ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Senate Democrats would “own” any shutdown “craziness” that happens as a result of their unwillingness to vote for a bipartisan bill that contains nothing they oppose.


UPDATE 12:00 P.M.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) demonstrate their true allegiances with this made-for-MSNBC television moment:

.@DickDurbin just called @LindseyGrahamSC on his cell while Graham was being interviewed live on @MSNBC by @GarrettHaake
— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) January 19, 2018

When Dick Durbin calls in the middle of your interview….
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 19, 2018

Meanwhile, Graham is bashing White House aide Stephen Miller–and undercutting President Trump and the Republican Party on this matter.

Just interviews @LindseyGrahamSC – says up to POTUS to decide what he wants in an immigration deal & stick with it. He won’t vote for 30 day CR. Dinged @TomCottonAR as “Steve King of the Senate.” Stay tuned to @MSNBC
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 19, 2018

“The Stephen Miller approach to immigration has no viability.”
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 11:56 A.M.
CNN is reporting, citing a government official, that President Trump has canceled his planned trip to Florida this weekend as a government shutdown is looming. Meanwhile, CNN also reports, members of the House of Representatives are being told to stay in Washington for the time being rather than leave as planned for the weekend scheduled recess.


UPDATE 11:51 A.M.
Our senior White House correspondent for Breitbart News Charlie Spiering files this update from Mulvaney’s and Short’s White House briefing room appearance:

“OMB is preparing for what we’re calling a Schumer Shutdown,” OMB Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters at the White House. “It still surprises me and I’ve been through some of these before, that the Democrats in the Senate are opposing a bill that they don’t oppose.”

Mulvaney ridiculed reporters during a briefing for suggesting that Republicans would be held accountable for a government shutdown just because they controlled all three branches of the federal government.

“I have to laugh when people say that … you know any as well as anybody it takes 60 votes in the senate to pass appropriations bill. You know that,” he said.
Mulvaney said that members of the military, the border patrol, wildfire fighters, post office, TSA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the national parks would still go to work, but that they would not be paid, if the government did shut down.

He also said that President Donald Trump would continue to work to prevent a shutdown.
“There’s no way you can lay this at the feet of the President of the United States; he is actively working to make a deal,” he said.

UPDATE 11:48 A.M.
Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, is desperately spinning away as her party jeopardizes its midterm election chances with a Schumer Shutdown. She is now claiming that Republicans only want to head to Davos:

Pelosi says House is adjourning to go to Davos. pic.twitter.com/e5R5kgFfNN
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 19, 2018

But last night she accused everyone who voted for the bill of eating dog feces:

NASTY NANCY: Pelosi Compares GOP Debt Deal with EATING DOG FECES
https://t.co/E8zuKqgS7z
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) January 18, 2018

Wordsmithing. https://t.co/SJOmRCLGRY
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 19, 2018

Interestingly, Pelosi–by accusing those who support the House-passed Continuing Resolution that would keep the government open of eating canine fecal matter–is attacking six of her own House Democrats who voted for the legislation.


The six Democrats who joined most Republicans in supporting the bill that passed the House with 230 votes are now under attack by Pelosi:

Updated figure. 6 Hse Dems votes yes on interim spending bill. Dems didn't put up any yeas on the board until the GOPers hit 220. Dem yeas: Costa Carbajal Gonzalez Peterson Gottheimer Cuellar
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

So, Schumer and his Senate Democrat conference face an interesting choice: Stand with bipartisan legislation that passed the House to keep the government open, and their constituents, or stand with special interests in Washington against the voters of their own states.


UPDATE 11:41 A.M.
President Trump is calling out Senate Democrats–particularly Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)–for their hypocrisy on this matter.

“Shutting down the government is a very serious thing. People die, accidents happen. I don’t know how I would vote right now on a CR, OK?”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif)https://t.co/7xP3CBnv5j
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 11:40 A.M.
OMB Director Mick Mulvaney and White House official Marc Short addressed the media from the White House briefing room.

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney:

"The president is actively working right now to try to prevent a shutdown. I will contend to you that is dramatically different from what President Obama was doing it 2013…It is absolutely my belief that President Obama wanted a shutdown in 2013." pic.twitter.com/Euvxsx85RN
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 19, 2018

"There's no reason you have to deal with DACA this week," Mick Mulvaney says https://t.co/lCJsliOyLR pic.twitter.com/FHe0iTCTXx
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 19, 2018

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney:
"We don't want this. We do not want a shutdown, but if Mr. Schumer insists on it he is in a position to force this on the American people." pic.twitter.com/z8JkPhaydi
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 19, 2018

In his comments to the press, particularly in an exchange with CNN’s Jim Acosta, Mulvaney made it very clear that Schumer and Senate Democrats have the votes to prevent a government shutdown from happening. If the Senate Democrats vote for the House-passed bill, which contains nothing they oppose, they will be able to prevent Schumer’s shutdown from happening.




http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...ff-approaches/

UPDATE 1:01 P.M.

Everything is on the line right now as Trump moves forward on this meeting with Schumer.

Am told that the meeting with the president is supposed to be just @realDonaldTrump and @SenSchumer — a one-on-one between the two of them.
— Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

If that holds, such a meeting is likely to cause conservatives to pull their hair out, worrying about what @realDonaldTrump might agree to at this very high-stakes moment for both parties.
— Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

Pictures show that @SenSchumer is already in the Oval Office with @realDonaldTrump. (with Marc Short, the president's legislative director, there too.) The balance of this day will be shaped by what happens in the next hour or so.
— Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

One big question: Will @realDonaldTrump have Stephen Miller, his hard-line immigration / domestic policy adviser, and his chief of staff, John Kelly, in the Oval with @SenSchumer? They usually bolster POTUS's hard-line tendencies.
— Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

Also — with there be more "tough" language in the Oval today? If so, that could derail any deal that might otherwise emerge.
— Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:57 P.M.

President Trump is risking a lot with this Schumer meeting, and House Republicans are very worried they will “get hosed” per a report from Politico’s Jake Sherman.

There is very serious concern rippling through the House Republican Conference that they are about to get hosed by the president and Chuck Schumer.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:54 P.M.

CNN’s John King reports that Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, is not invited to Schumer’s White House meeting with President Trump that is about to begin.

UPDATE 12:53 P.M.

Back in 2013, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) called senators who voted to shut down the government “dysfunctional deadbeats.”

Now, she faces a choice as the Senate prepares voting for cloture on the House-passed spending bill, whether she wants to vote for what she considers is a “dysfunctional deadbeat” position as she faces reelection this year.


UPDATE 12:49 P.M.

Schumer has arrived at the White House. It remains to be seen what deal is being discussed if any or if congressional Republicans will join Schumer and Trump in these negotiations.

JUST IN: Schumer has arrived at the White House for talks with President Trump.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:43 P.M.

Schumer is on his way to the White House, per media reports:

the Schumer/Trump confab is imminent. meaning, it will happen like now
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 19, 2018

BREAKING: Chuck Schumer headed to White House to talk shutdown, @kasie reports
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 19, 2018

News – Trump reached out to Schumer and invited him to WH to try to figure out a deal on spending to avert shutdown, per source briefed
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 19, 2018

BREAKING: AP source: Trump phones Senate Dem leader Schumer, invites him to White House to try to reach deal to avert shutdown.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:42 P.M.

An update from House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office, as the Speaker appeared on Fox News to discuss the Schumer Shutdown that looms.

A key quote as highlighted by the Speaker’s office is as follows:

“This is absolutely needless, completely unnecessary, and wholly because of Senate Democrats trying to shut down the government, holding the entire government hostage for a completely unrelated issue that doesn’t have a deadline right now. . . . If we have a government shutdown, that the Democrats insist on, troops don’t get paid, they’re holding our military hostage. Children’s health insurance dries up, seven states run out of money for their children’s health insurance. The Medical Device Tax kicks in so anybody getting a medical procedure that involves a device will pay a whole lot more for that procedure. Those are things that will happen if the Senate Democrats continue to insist on shutting down the government. . . .Senator Schumer said this very tactic, this very strategy a few years ago, was governmental chaos. Nancy Pelosi called it legislative arson. This is exactly what they’re doing and it is completely unnecessary to hold the government hostage for something unrelated. And by way, those DACA negotiations are underway right now. There are good faith bipartisan negotiations underway on DACA right now that have been occurring for some time and that deadline is not until March. So what they’re simply trying to do is hold all of government hostage, our troops, kids’ health insurance, for a completely unrelated issue. I think it’s shameful.”

UPDATE 12:35 P.M.

More from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) interview on MSNBC. He takes the radical leftist worldview, far outside the mainstream and more in line with the Democratic Party, that Stephen Miller is somehow to blame for the Democrats’ intransigence on DACA.
It’s worth noting that President Trump and House GOP leaders, as well as several GOP senators including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA), support the position that in exchange for a legislative amnesty for DACA recipients there must be an end to chain migration altogether, an end to the visa lottery, and funding for the border wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. That principle is encapsulated in legislation offered by House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX). That bill is supported by House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who intend to hold a House vote on the bill and whip support for it. So, in other words, Graham’s extremist position on immigration is so more in line with the Democrats pushing for a government shutdown if they don’t get their way on amnesty for illegal aliens, even though there is absolutely nothing in the House-passed bipartisan spending bill–which 6 Democrats and 224 Republicans backed–that Democrats oppose.


UPDATE 12:29 P.M.

The Department of Homeland Security said that if a government shutdown happens thanks to Schumer’s and his Senate Democrats’ intransigence, the government is prepared to protect the homeland.
Most of DHS personnel–about 90 percent–are considered “essential staff” in the event of a shutdown.


UPDATE 12:25 P.M.

Chuck Schumer is facing serious criticism for previously, back in 2013, saying that it would be “governmental chaos” for doing exactly what he is doing now.

Schumer, in a 2013 interview with George Stephanopoulos, said this:

Speaker [John] Boehner comes in and he says basically… it’s sort of like this: Someone goes into your house, takes your wife and children hostage and then says ‘Let’s negotiate over the price of your house.’

You know we could do the same thing on immigration. We believe strongly in immigration reform. We could say ‘We’re shutting down the government. We’re not going to raise the debt ceiling until you pass immigration reform.’ It would be governmental chaos.

But, as our own John Binder notes in a piece just published on Breitbart News, that is exactly what Schumer is doing right now:

The plan to shut down the federal government unless illegal aliens are given amnesty, though, is now being championed by Schumer and Democrats, who say they want to see the nearly 800,000 illegal aliens shielded from deportation by the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program given amnesty to remain permanently in the U.S. in exchange for their support on a government funding bill.
In an expansive amnesty plan that the Republican establishment and Democrats want to see passed, some 3.5 million illegal aliens who are enrolled and eligible for DACA would be granted amnesty, as well as their parents who brought them to the U.S. illegally.

Read the whole piece from Binder here.

Democrat Claire McCaskill

McCaskill In 2013: Senators Voting To Shut Down Government Are "Dysfunctional Deadbeats"






https://youtu.be/5gVjDdECXo4

‘It Would Be Governmental Chaos:’ Schumer in 2013 Mocked Shutting Down Govt Over Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

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John Binder

January 19, 2018


During an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Schumer mocked the idea that Democrats would ever try to shut down the federal government unless millions of illegal aliens were given amnesty.

SCHUMER: Speaker [John] Boehner comes in and he says basically… it’s sort of like this: Someone goes into your house, takes your wife and children hostage and then says ‘Let’s negotiate over the price of your house.’


You know we could do the same thing on immigration. We believe strongly in immigration reform. We could say ‘We’re shutting down the government. We’re not going to raise the debt ceiling until you pass immigration reform.’ It would be governmental chaos. [Emphasis added]

The plan to shut down the federal government unless illegal aliens are given amnesty, though, is now being championed by Schumer and Democrats, who say they want to see the nearly 800,000 illegal aliens shielded from deportation by the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program given amnesty to remain permanently in the U.S. in exchange for their support on a government funding bill.
In an expansive amnesty plan that the Republican establishment and Democrats want to see passed, some 3.5 million illegal aliens who are enrolled and eligible for DACA would be granted amnesty, as well as their parents who brought them to the U.S. illegally.


Additionally, the plan by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) would:

• Make no cuts to legal immigration levels, whereby more than one million legal immigrants enter the U.S. every year
• Transfers the 50,000 visas through the Diversity Visa Lottery into two other visa categories
• Does not fund the estimated $18 billion U.S.-Mexico border wall
• Does not mandate E-Verify to bar employers from hiring illegal aliens over American workers

As Breitbart News reported, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen have slammed the amnesty plan as “totally unjustifiable,” while populist conservative Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said the amnesty should be thrown “straight into the trash can,” as Breitbart News reported.




http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...llegal-aliens/

They are all so disgusting and the damage they do to this country.

I just hope each and every one of them get voted out.

UPDATE 1:52 P.M.


A White House aide tells Breitbart News senior White House correspondent Charlie Spiering that conservatives should not worry about Trump’s meeting with Schumer one bit. “Conservatives should be reassured that the president is a strong negotiator and committed to conservative principles,” the White House aide tells Spiering.


UPDATE 1:50 P.M.


Trump and Schumer are not in the room together alone. Both of their chiefs of staff are there with them, per Politico’s Eliana Johnson:


Oval Office meeting is with Trump, Schumer, and both of their chiefs. Nobody else.


— Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) January 19, 2018


UPDATE 1:48 P.M.


Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is under fire in Wisconsin as a vote looms in the Senate for cloture on the government funding bill. If she votes to shut down the government, expect Republicans to seize the opportunity in a state that’s been trending rightward in recent years. Kevin Nicholson, the leading GOP senatorial candidate in Wisconsin, is already hammering Baldwin for even considering voting for a shutdown.


.@tammybaldwin needs to keep her past promises to put the people of Wisconsin first, keep the federal government open, pay our military, and extend CHIP. #shutdowntammy #wisen https://t.co/abYV7qwJ2O


— Kevin Nicholson (@KevinMNicholson) January 19, 2018


.@TammyBaldwin in 2015: “ Federal workers, veterans … do their job and we have a responsibility to do ours by keeping the government open for business.” #wisen #shutdowntammy https://t.co/ClAWRUJ1ixhttps://t.co/DD7mkW8lxp


— Kevin Nicholson (@KevinMNicholson) January 19, 2018


UPDATE 1:30 P.M.


Schumer’s shutdown ploy is already severely hurting members of his Senate Democratic conference. McCaskill, for instance, is coming under serious fire in Missouri as her likely general election opponent Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley fires away at her refusal to back government funding measures.


With a #SchumerShutdown looming, Missouri is wondering if @clairecmc will get involved – or watch from the sidelines and comment later? She shouldn’t be putting our military, CHIP funding at risk. #mosen


— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 19, 2018


UPDATE 1:22 P.M.


President Trump’s campaign, as Trump meets with Schumer, is still bashing Schumer for the looming shutdown.


Trump's campaign just sent this out — just as Trump is about to meet with Schumer to try to cut a deal to avoid a shutdown pic.twitter.com/bXq8Q1JUS4


— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) January 19, 2018


Also, interesting flashback from ABC’s Jon Karl when Schumer appeared on The Apprentice to praise Trump in 2006.


That time @chuckschumer appeared on the Apprentice and said of @realDonaldTrump "Even when he was much younger you knew that he was gonna go places.” (h/t @chrisdonovan). https://t.co/fjHHfnc8Hi


— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) January 19, 2018


UPDATE 1:18 P.M.


If Trump agrees to something that does not have support from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), in this meeting with Schumer, he will be betraying a promise he made at the beginning of this process.


Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows told reporters President Trump committed to him that he wouldn't back an immigration bill unless he & Sen Tom Cotton backed it.
Asked about Schumer saying Cotton can't be involved: "I don’t really care what Chuck Schumer says."


— Deirdre Walsh (@deirdrewalshcnn) January 19, 2018


Meadows notes that Schumer’s opinion is essentially irrelevant.


UPDATE 1:16 P.M.


Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) again demonstrates his allegiance is to the Democrats as he encourages Trump to cave in the Schumer meeting:


Glad to see @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and Sen. Schumer sitting down and talking. This is welcome news to American people, military, DACA recipients.


Let’s see if two New Yorkers can agree on a deal good for USA.


I believe – in America – anything is still possible.


— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 19, 2018


UPDATE 1:15 P.M.


Reports are emerging that Trump and Schumer spoke via phone earlier, when Trump invited Schumer to the White House.


Trump/Schumer chat was positive and friendly, per two people briefed. Between 10 and 11 AM. Trump said come on over.


— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 19, 2018


There are worries Trump will cave in the meeting with Schumer.


No Pelosi, no McConnell, no Ryan, no Cotton, no Durbin. Just Trump and Schumer. New York talk.


— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 19, 2018


“Senator, are you worried there are no members of your party in the room with Trump and Senator Schumer right now?” asks stone cold @igorbobic


“Yes,” replies Sen. Blunt


— Matt Laslo (@MattLaslo) January 19, 2018


Ryan and McConnell are not going to the meeting with Trump and Schumer.


— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 19, 2018

(Pray for the President and others)

UPDATE 2:18 P.M.


KellyAnne Conway says that the only two Republicans in the meeting with Schumer at the White House are Donald Trump and John Kelly.

Just asked Kellyanne Conway who exactly is in the Oval Office meeting now with Trump and Schumer. She said “it’s a very small group.” I asked if there are any Republicans (meaning Hill leaders) and she said “Donald Trump and John Kelly. They are Republicans.”

— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) January 19, 2018

Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram

GOP SC Sen Graham: We are on the 10 yd line

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Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram




GOP AR Sen Cotton on Schumer/Trump mtg: Hopefully the President can talk some sense into Sen. Schumer and the Democrats

******************

Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram


Schumer now leaving WH after Trump mtg

Senator Schumer speaks to press and says they had a long and detailed meeting, made some progress.

Senator Tom Cotton on FOX News with Dana Perino (Daily Briefing) We are willing to give protections to DACA dreamers but we don't want this to happen again.

Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram


We are told there is no deal after WH mtg between Trump/


********************

Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram



Pelosi now on Hse side. Meeting with Schumer after mtg with Trump. Durbin in there too



*********************

Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram


Schumer: We had a long and detailed meeting, we discussed all of the major outstanding issues, we made some progress, and we still have a good number of disagreements. The discussions will continu

*****************


Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram


If no deal at WH, expect Senate to set cloture vote to end debate on Hse-passed CR. That could prompt horsetrading later

UPDATE 2:55 P.M.


Schumer ducked out of the White House dodging reporters into a black SUV, a bad sign for the Democrats as they face a tough vote on whether they will shut the government down or not.

Chuck Schumer leaves the White House in his SUV – does not respond to shouted questions from reporters
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) January 19, 2018

Shutdown fever is gripping the White House as well:

Shutdown fever at the White House as reporters rush @kellyannepollshttps://t.co/gKux6n8N2X
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) January 19, 2018

Schumer talked to reporters later as well, signaling that he and the Democrats are still refusing to get to a deal:

SCHUMER on meeting with TRUMP: "We had a long and detailed meeting. We discussed all of the major outstanding issues, we made some progress, but we still have a good number of disagreements. The discussions will continue."
— Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) January 19, 2018

Schumer: Progress but no deal yet
— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) January 19, 2018

Also, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)–Hillary Clinton’s running mate in their failed 2016 campaign for the White House–said, per CNN, that “we’re close” to a deal.

Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram




Colleague Jason Donner rpts Cornyn talked to WH CoS Kelly. Says ball is in Schumer’s court. When asked if was frustrated with members of his own party who are against the CR, he replied “not at all.”


******************



Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram


Cotton: Donald trump won our party’s nomination. Lindsey Graham didn’t even make it to the starting line. The voters have made it clear that they want Donald trump’s approach to immigration.

UPDATE 4:32 P.M.

CNN’s polling data, as noted by Jake Tapper live on air just now, finds that 56 percent of Americans think stopping a government shutdown is more important than fixing DACA. Only 34 percent think a DACA fix is more important. That puts the Democrats in an awful position, and it is why Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) have abandoned Schumer’s position on this matter–and it’s why many of the other Democrats conference-wide in the Senate like Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) continue to refuse to say where they stand on this matter.

Tapper is currently ripping Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)–a member of the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty plotters–apart live on CNN trying to get him to answer for Schumer’s actions. Bennet is struggling, as Schumer runs out of messengers to send out on TV–all while Durbin, Schumer’s number two, said everything rides on what Schumer does next.

UPDATE 4:23 P.M.

The Democrat dam is beginning to burst open. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is already widely viewed as a “yea” vote on the House-passed funding bill, and now Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)–another red state Democrat up for re-election in 2018–has announced he will vote for the bill. Schumer is in trouble as he aims to hold his conference together.

UPDATE 4:13 P.M.

The Democrats will not be able to hide much longer. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, per Fox News’ Chad Pergram, has announced that the Senate will hold its cloture vote on the bipartisan House-passed Continuing Resolution to keep the government open.

If Senate Democrats do not vote for this legislation–it needs 60 votes to pass–then they alone will be responsible for the government shutdown, imperiling their midterm election chances.


UPDATE 4:07 P.M.

A new CNN poll finds that a plurality of Americans would blame Democrats if the government shuts down–a total of 31 percent. Only 21 percent would blame President Trump, and only 26 percent would blame congressional Republicans. Another 10 percent would blame all three groups. This polling data is not good for Democrats, especially as Schumer is getting blamed for this even by Durbin as per CNN’s Manu Raju and Ted Barrett.
On television, CNN’s Jake Tapper compared these numbers back to previous polling data from shutdowns during the Barack Obama and Bill Clinton administrations–and found that Republicans are in much better shape than years past.

As the debate rages even more, the situation is likely to get worse for Democrats as they alone have the power to keep the government open–no matter how much they complain about Republicans controlling the House, Senate, and White House. Per current Senate rules, 60 votes are needed to pass the government funding bill. That means Democrats have the power to stop a shutdown if they wanted to.


UPDATE 4:03 P.M.

Nancy Pelosi and Dick Durbin attempted to sneak out of Chuck Schumer’s office after their powwow, but CNN of all networks cornered them–and in a conversation with a CNN reporter, Durbin put everything on Schumer’s shoulders.

Again, if the government shuts down, now even top Democrats like the Senate Minority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) are admitting that it will be Schumer’s and the Democrats’ responsibility.


UPDATE 3:34 P.M.

The Democrats are clearly not taking this seriously, as Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) is roaming around Capitol Hill with a camera taking photos–rather than trying to keep the government open.
Again, not to belabor the point, but the electoral calamity that exists on the road ahead for Democrats if they vote against keeping the government open–and for a shutdown–when the Senate takes up the House-passed government funding bill cannot be understated. Photos like this of Democrats horsing around rather than trying to govern will likely not come in handy for Democrats in tough races in the midterm elections.


UPDATE 3:29 P.M.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt sent a message to agency employees informing them that the agency, even in the event of a shutdown, will operate as per usual for at least a week.
“As many of you are aware, annual funding for the government expires at midnight,” Pruitt wrote to EPA employees in a message obtained by Breitbart News. “At this time EPA has sufficient resources to remain open for a limited amount of time in the event of a government shutdown. All EPA employees should follow their normal work schedule for the week of January 22, 2018. Should the shutdown occur and remain in place through January 26, 2018, we will provide further updates on the agency’s operating status. In addition, all travel needs to be approved by the Administrator’s Office. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and patience through this process, and for all that you do for the EPA and the American people.”


UPDATE 3:25 P.M.

As their party’s future in the midterm elections hinges on what they do next, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin rushed into Schumer’s office after Schumer’s White House meeting with Trump–in order to get a readout of what happened and figure out what to do next.
Democrats are really up a creek here–they voted against children’s health insurance (the CHIP program) in the House en masse on Thursday evening and would get all the blame for a government shutdown if a dozen plus Senate Democrats don’t vote for the bipartisan House-passed bill. A lot rides on what happens next, and all the pressure is on them–not the Republicans, who did their job.


UPDATE 3:18 P.M.

Some of Washington’s favorite haunts, like Capitol Hill bar Capitol Lounge, are having fun preparing for a potential government shutdown:


UPDATE 3:15 P.M.

More from inside Schumer’s meeting with Trump, per Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)–the Senate Majority Whip–who spoke with White House chief of staff John Kelly afterwards. Kelly was inside the meeting with Trump and Schumer.

In other words, Schumer will not get bailed out by Trump. He can have his members walk his party off the plank by voting against the House-passed Continuing Resolution, imperiling Democrats’ midterm election chances by making them vote for a government shutdown, or Schumer can step up and provide the votes to keep the government open.


UPDATE 3:12 P.M.

Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), the new radical leftist Democrat senator from Alabama who was elected amid a firestorm of allegations that sank his conservative Republican opponent, is noncommittal on the House-passed spending bill. But he is not opposed to voting for the bill in the end–as voting against it would undermine his chances at re-election in 2020.


UPDATE 3:10 P.M.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) shoots down Lindsey Graham once again, as the radical open borders senator from South Carolina keeps attempting to empower the Democrats while undercutting President Trump in these negotiations.


UPDATE 3:07 P.M.

As Chuck Schumer continues to jeopardize his party’s midterm election chances by steering the government towards a shutdown, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is out with new videos ripping apart Democratic congressional candidates across the country. Here is one such video:

(at Link)

On Thursday evening, six Democrats joined 224 Republicans–230 votes in total on a bipartisan basis–to pass out of the House a funding measure to keep the government open. Now, Schumer and his Senate Democrats–in lock step with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi–are refusing to vote to keep the government open, jeopardizing Democrat election chances nationwide.

Along with the release of these NRCC videos, NRCC communications director Matt Gorman released this statement: “The unconscionable vote these House Democrats took last night will be a major campaign issue in 2018. To Pelosi and Washington Democrats: fund the government. Fund CHIP. Do it now.”


The ads, per the NRCC, target vulnerable Democrats in 10 different districts:

(AZ-01) Tom O’Halleran
(CA-07) Ami Bera
(CA-36) Raul Ruiz
(IA-02) Dave Loebsack
(MA-09) Bill Keating
(MI-05) Dan Kildee
(MN-08) Rick Nolan
(NY-18) Sean Patrick Maloney
(PA-17) Matt Cartwright
(CA-52) Scott Peters

UPDATE 3:01 P.M.

There still appears to be no deal.

Trump’s move of bringing Schumer himself to the White House makes it very clear here that the Democrats in the Senate–at Schumer’s behest–are solely responsible for the shutdown if one happens. If a shutdown happens, every Democrat who votes against cloture for the government funding bill passed by the House will own what happens next, throwing the Democratic Party into further chaos walking into the all-important midterm elections. In other words, Trump schooled Schumer at the White House and boxed in the Democratic leader.

UPDATE 2:58 P.M.

Per this video from Capitol Hill reporters, Schumer is refusing to answer questions about his continued refusal to keep the government open–making matters even worse for Democratic senators facing tough re-election battles in 2018:


It’s worth noting Schumer almost never refuses to take questions. He is known for lunging at opportunities to talk with the media.

Chad Pergram



@ChadPergram

Colleague John Roberts rpts Schumer presented Trump with a nbr of domestic issues beyond just DACA. Trump seemed perplexed & told Schumer he wasn’t going to get all he asked for. But there could be an opening for a short-term CR to avoid a shutdown

Mitch needs to call for the vote in the Senate. Put the DemoQuacks on the record with their blackmail treason against Americans.

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.

UPDATE 8:20 P.M.


The vote appears to be nowhere near a tie, as Vice President Mike Pence has departed for his trip to the Middle East just now.

Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times, the VP pooler, emailed to the press at 7:39 P.M. that the Vice President was taking off soon:
“Air Force Two is rolling on the tarmac at JBA at around 7:36 pm. The plane will land in Shannon, Ireland for a short refueling stop before heading on to Cairo.,” Bennett wrote. “Your pooler could see Vice President Pence standing in the middle of the center aisle and talking briefly to his staff at the front of the plane before it began moving. Our seats were too far away to hear what was said.”
It appears Pence does not believe he could break a tie in the Senate tonight. The vice president leaving the country amid a government shutdown, however, is maybe not the best optics. The president, Donald Trump, canceled a planned trip to Florida this weekend amid the Democratic Party-inspired chaos on Capitol Hill.


UPDATE 8:11 P.M.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), a member of House Democratic leadership, confirms that the Democratic Party expects there to be a government shutdown tonight. Senate Democrats could vote against a government shutdown if they voted for the House-passed government funding bill.

UPDATE 8:08 P.M.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announces his intention, in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, his intention to vote for a government shutdown at 10 p.m. this evening. He plans to vote against the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill, which has nothing contained in it that he actually opposes. Sanders could vote for the bill to keep the government open, but he is refusing to do so.


UPDATE 7:54 P.M.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a leading proponent of amnesty for illegal aliens who has seriously damaged his relationship with President Trump and the Republican Party throughout this process, is now getting angry with reporters in the Capitol screaming at them to “get out of my way!”

Angry Lindsey Graham apparently just got some food:

UPDATE 7:52 P.M.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn confirms that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has spiraled so far leftward in these negotiations into the realm of extreme–far outside the mainstream–that Schumer cannot find a way back to the highly reasonable positions that Republicans are offering.

Schumer, and his counterpart on the other side of Capitol Hill House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have steered the Democratic Party into a ditch to begin 2018 when they could have started what was supposed to be a promising year off strong. The consequences for Democrats only continue to get worse as this debate rages onward, and Democrats cannot seem to find a way out.
UPDATE 7:49 P.M.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a vulnerable Democrat up for re-election in Ohio–a state where President Trump trounced Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 election–announces his plans to vote for a government shutdown at 10 p.m. this evening when he is offered an opportunity to keep the government open by voting for cloture on the House-passed government funding bill.

While Republican Josh Mandel dropped out of the race against Brown recently, and J.D. Vance is not running against him, this could empower Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH)–a likely candidate against Brown–if and when Brown votes for a government shutdown.

UPDATE 7:46 P.M.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was just spotted walking into Chuck Schumer’s office:

Graham keeps undercutting President Trump and the Republican Party throughout this process:


UPDATE 7:45 P.M.

Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) is seemingly more concerned with “supper” than with voting to keep the government open.

Leahy is expected to, alongside Schumer and many other Senate Democrats, vote for a government shutdown by voting against cloture on the House-passed government funding bill tonight. If Leahy votes against cloture, he will be voting for a shutdown–and Republicans will surely mock him for some time in the future for being more concerned with “supper” than with troops getting paychecks.


UPDATE 7:41 P.M.

Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) is under fire down in Alabama for refusing to publicly back the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill. For now, Jones appears to be–as he said he would not do during the special election in 2017–acting as Schumer’s puppet, enabling the Senate Democratic leader’s efforts to shut down the government.

Jones could prove his independence from Schumer right now by announcing his support for the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill, just like Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, and Heidi Heitkamp have.

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.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...0EVBPI_x96.jpg




Lindsey Graham



@LindseyGrahamSC










Great to speak with these young people who will be #TRUMPDreamers. President Trump can help these young people who know no other home than the United States.#Dreamers https://abs-0.twimg.com/emoji/v2/svg/27a1.svg #TRUMPDreamers

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5:13 PM · Jan 19, 2018
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From Jason Donner's (Fox News) twitter feed:

Sen Blumenthal (D-CT) says there was virtually a deal between Schumer & the president and the president walked away from it after he talked to his hard right. Blumenthal says Schumer will talk on the Senate floor about what the deal was.

7:09 PM - 19 Jan 2018

UPDATE

Senate Democrats Kill Bill to Keep Government Open Past Midnight

UPDATE 11:21 P.M.
Less than an hour before a government shutdown, there seems to be another effort afoot to avoid said shutdown.



But, these types of reports have been emerging all day and haven’t panned out. More importantly, the Democrats seem to have overplayed their hands–and boxed themselves into a strategic miscalculation:

UPDATE 10:57 P.M.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), another Schumer lackey who voted for a government shutdown tonight, is under fire back in Wisconsin already now too as her likely GOP challenger businessman Kevin Nicholson–the leading candidate in Wisconsin primaries–is hammering away at her calling her “Shutdown Tammy” working for the “Schumer Shutdown.”

UPDATE 10:56 P.M.
Again, technically, the vote is still open on the Senate floor but expected to fail:

UPDATE 10:53 P.M.
It begins. The Schumer Shutdown’s negative effects on members of his Democratic conference are already becoming apparent, as Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) is ripping Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)–who he is running against in Pennsylvania this year–for voting for a government shutdown tonight.

“While the House passed a Continuing Resolution that provides funding for our military, veterans, seniors, and kids, the Senate rules require 60 votes to pass spending legislation. Republicans only hold 51 seats in the Senate,” Barletta said in a statement bashing Casey’s vote for a government shutdown. “It was impossible for the Senate to get to 60 votes and avert a government shutdown without Democrat support. By voting no tonight, Senator Casey and the Democratic Senators who joined him are solely responsible for denying funding for American citizens. There are 342,000 children in Pennsylvania who benefit from the Children’s Health Insurance Program and 4,900 DACA recipients. By voting to shut down the government, Senator Casey put illegal immigrants over health insurance for our kids. Pennsylvanians should be furious.”


UPDATE 10:50 P.M.
McConnell is expected to vote against the measure when the vote is closed on the Senate floor for procedural reasons so he can bring the measure back up:


But the vote is still open right now for unclear reasons.


UPDATE 10:45 P.M.
In perhaps the worst possible outcome for Democrats and for Chuck Schumer, there were a majority of senators voting for the cloture measure on the vote to end debate and stop the filibuster on the House-passed government funding bill. That means, since the measure needed 60 votes to succeed, that it would have passed had Democrats voted for it–and despite obtaining a simple majority, a government shutdown will proceed because of Democrat intransigence on DACA amnesty.

A total of 5 Senate Democrats broke with the leadership of their party–Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)–on the vote. McCaskill was the biggest surprise, as she voted for keeping the government funded and open despite not having previously announced it. Her vote put the leadership of her party in a difficult position, as the deadline for government funding runs out in just over an hour.

Vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018 like Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bob Casey (D-PA), and both Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) fare worst with this result as it empowers Republicans running against them at the beginning of the midterm election year.

The House-passed spending bill would have kept the government open all the way until mid-February, and has had bipartisan support since it passed the House on Thursday night. Six House Democrats voted for the bill then–putting Senate Democrats in an awful position the past 24 plus hours.

The dramatic Senate vote stayed open much longer than expected, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held his vote back per a Senate procedure that allows him to re-introduce this measure even after failure by holding his own vote back and voting no in the end. But, McConnell would have voted for the measure if it were going to pass which means if he had voted it would have failed with a simple majority of 51-48. The vote will likely technically read as though it failed 50-49, even though McConnell is only likely voting against it so he can use the Senate procedure to reintroduce it after voting no. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who is suffering from brain cancer and is back home in Arizona, did not vote. At a total of four Republicans–Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ)–voted against the measure.

Interestingly, however, the vote still remains open at this time–and it remains unclear if and when it will close, or if any senators will change their votes. What happens next also remains unclear, but government funding runs out in a little over an hour.

UPDATE 10:15 P.M.
The Senate has begun voting on the cloture measure on the House-passed government funding bill. The measure needs 60 votes to succeed. It remains unclear if it will get there, but seems unlikely.


UPDATE 10:15 P.M.
As the country awaits a Senate vote on the House-passed funding bill to keep the government open, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) continues to refuse to say whether she will stand with fellow Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, Doug Jones, and Heidi Heitkamp or whether she will vote for a government shutdown.


If McCaskill votes against this bill, she will likely face serious criticism ahead of her re-election bid this year in Missouri:


UPDATE 10:10 P.M.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) bashes Democrats willing to shut down the government to play politics on issues that have nothing to do with government funding, like DACA. It is worth noting that his fellow Floridian Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) still is refusing to take a public position on the bill. Nelson faces a tough re-election this year, likely against Florida’s highly popular GOP Gov. Rick Scott.
“At a time when we face so much chaos in our politics, the only thing worse than a short-term spending deal is a government shutdown,” Rubio said in a statement issued late Friday. “I too support border security, dealing with DACA, increasing defense spending and disaster relief for Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico. We should keep the government open while we continue to work on these issues.”


UPDATE 10:04 P.M.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) confirms the Democrats plan to plunge the government into a shutdown over DACA amnesty for illegal aliens. Here’s more of what Coons is saying:

UPDATE 10:03 P.M.
According to MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt, the Democrats plan to vote in a bloc for a government shutdown tonight–imperiling their midterm election chances:

UPDATE 10:01 P.M.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a vulnerable Democrat up for re-election this year in a state in which President Trump trounced Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, is still refusing to take a public position minutes from the vote:

Nelson and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)–among others–refusing to take public positions on the bill puts them on the side of a government shutdown unless they vote for the bill on the Senate floor minutes from now.


UPDATE 9:58 P.M.
Democrats admit they essentially have zero plan on how to avoid a government shutdown that they have orchestrated.

The White House’s Marc Short makes it very clear after leaving Sen. Cornyn’s office that this is–again–the Democrats’ fault if the government shuts down, because they won’t vote to stop it:

And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi throws out some talking points on Twitter:


UPDATE 9:53 P.M.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, confirms to the media there is “no deal” at this time just over two hours out from a government shutdown and minutes away from a Senate vote on a House-passed plan to keep the government open. The fact that the Democrats are unwilling to vote against a government shutdown is severely damaging their midterm election chances, as evidenced by their dropoff in support in the generic ballot per NBC News and the Wall Street Journal in the latest polling.



UPDATE 9:51 P.M.
President Trump tweets tonight that the Democrats want a shutdown:

Here is more on what will likely happen next if the Democrats vote for a government shutdown as expected:




UPDATE 9:40 P.M.
The Democrats are in an awful position ahead of 10 p.m. vote in the U.S. Senate on the measure to keep the government open. That’s why the Democrats are scrambling to try to get some kind of a deal that allows them to save face instead of voting to shut the government down. They are in awful shape, and Schumer and Pelosi steered their members into this position by trying to force DACA amnesty into the government funding battle–something Schumer previously said even Democrats who support amnesty should not do so as to avoid chaos. Republicans are winning right now.


UPDATE 9:34 P.M.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) bashes the House-passed spending bill in a video she released on Twitter, but does not say in the video whether she will vote for or against the bill:

She is getting ripped apart back in Wisconsin as her fellow Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and the front-running GOP candidate against her businessman Kevin Nicholson are hammering her for enabling Schumer’s shutdown.


UPDATE 9:30 P.M.
Fox News is reporting that Senate Democrats are likely to cave here, and try to offer a short-term Continuing Resolution (and frame it as they are offering GOP an off-ramp) even without DACA in it:


UPDATE 9:28 P.M.
Breitbart News’ Sean Moran files this fact check of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who continues to refuse to say whether she will vote for a government shutdown or for the House-passed government funding bill on Friday evening:

Despite Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) claim on Friday that there has never been a government shutdown with one party in control of the executive and legislative branch, there have been multiple government shutdowns with one party in control of Congress and the presidency. In fact, the government has only shut down in recent history with one party, the Democratic party, in control of Congress and the White House.

McCaskill claimed on Friday night, “Never before in the history of this nation has the government been shut down with one party in control of both Congress and the Presidency. Never.”

The government first shut down with President Jimmy Carter and Democratic control of the House under Speaker Tip O’Neill and Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd from September 30 to October 13, 1977. The Senate at the time wanted to loosen the restriction for Medicaid dollars, known as the “Hyde” amendment, to allow funding for cases of rape and incest.

The government shut down once again between October 31 and November 9, 1977, after the Democrat-controlled Congress and presidency after the Democrats could not come to a solution on the issue of abortion funding.

The government shut down for the third time from November 30 to December 9, 1977 over the issue of abortion; the issue was eventually resolved when Democrats eventually granted Medicaid funding for abortion in the cases of rape, incest, and mother’s health.

The government once again shut down under Jimmy Carter and the Democratic-controlled Congress from September 30 to October 18, 1978. The Democrat Congress and President Carter disagreed about Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) Department funding as well a defense spending bill that included funding for nuclear-powered aircraft. Carter believed the defense bill to be too wasteful and the HEW spending bill to contain too much pork spending.

The government shutdown for the last time with a unified, Democratic, government from September 30 to October 12, 1979 over the issue of abortion. The House, controlled by Speaker Tip O’Neill, wanted to return to only one exception to abortion funding.

UPDATE 9:23 P.M.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), per CNN, says a “few things are percolating.”
Meanwhile here is what Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) says:

Meanwhile, House Democrats are planning to meet on Saturday morning to discuss the state of play:


And Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)–another leftist Democrat planning to vote for a government shutdown by voting against the House-passed government funding bill tonight–is whining about amnesty.


UPDATE 9:20 P.M.
There appear to developments ongoing in the Congress tonight, as Lindsey Graham is hopping in and out of Mitch McConnell’s office.




UPDATE 9:00 P.M.
A little more than an hour before the vote, it has become clear that despite Democrats’ intransigence there will be no DACA deal on Friday night no matter what:


UPDATE 8:58 P.M.
Another Democrat has broken ranks with Schumer ahead of the vote. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) has announced his intention to vote for the House-passed government funding bill, significantly boxing in any Democrat who votes against the bill–which means any Democrat who votes against tonight’s cloture vote is voting for a government shutdown.


(Lots of tweets at Link)

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...ff-approaches/

UPDATE 11:59 P.M.
As the government is about to shutdown thanks to Democrats particularly Chuck Schumer, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issues statement on Schumer Shutdown.



"Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown. Tonight, they put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country's ability to serve all Americans. We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands. This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators. When Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders we will reopen negotiations on immigration reform. During this politically manufactured Schumer Shutdown, the President and his Administration will fight for and protect the American people."

Sarah Sanders

@PressSec

https://mobile.twitter.com/PressSec?...-approaches%2F

It is a sad day in America when democrats and some republicans would vote to shut down the government of the United States for illegal aliens and for amnesty. How far we have come since giving an amnesty in 1986. Illegal aliens and those who use them have gained such favor and leverage against American citizens. Our Congress has failed us profoundly over decades and the White House does too with its repeated words in support of amnesty for DACA recipients. How many would that include?

The democrats seem totally set to not relent on demanding amnesty for the illegal aliens and probably figure they can pound the administration into folding with little in return. I hope we see something quite different at the end.

One thing is for sure, we, the American people, the citizenry, now know that we come second in the eyes of a great many in our own government.

James Woods
@RealJamesWoods

You kneel down to this #DACA scam and this photo will haunt you right out of the White House...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DT7MsFOV...=jpg&name=orig

CIS.org Retweeted


Trish Regan



@trish_regan


·
The democrats have truly radicalized on immigration. They don’t want ANY border control and they are against ANYTHING @POTUS wants - @MarkSKrikorian on #govshutdown #daca

1:00
https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_...g&name=900x900

Lindsey Graham still scheming and plotting amnesty. From Chad Pergram's (Fox News) Twitter feed 1-20-18:

"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is trying to craft a plan and get ten or more Democrats on board on an immigration/DACA package and to vote to end debate on the interim spending bill. Still, that doesn’t get them to 60 yeas."

https://twitter.com/chadpergram?lang=en

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, after Republican Conference Meeting this morning, stated that republicans are just as passionate about doing something on DACA. They gave democrats what they wanted in CR to avoid shutdown. When government opens back up they will work on the immigration issue.

Sounds like democrats hold the upper hand and will not concede till dreamers get amnesty. Senator Schumer's Twitter page says he stands with dreamers.

Mark Krikorian


@MarkSKrikorian



Dems shuts down the govt over amnesty for DACA illegals, but the processing of these illegals' work-permit renewals (mandated by a rogue judge) continues nonetheless. Surreal.
Seung Min Kim



@seungminkim


Interestingly, USCIS — the agency that process applications for DACA, central in this entire fight — doesn’t close in a shutdown because it’s fee-funded



**************

Mark Krikorian Retweeted


Mickey Kaus


@kausmickey


·Because it's not their position. Some GOPs want to see the Dreamers deported, or subject to deportation. But all the relevant pols and officials--Goodlatte, Trump, Miller--want a deal: Protect Dreamers but do x, y, and z to ameliorate the consequences.
Chris Hayes



@chrislhayes


One key point here: the GOP as a party wants to see the Dreamers deported but weirdly won’t just say that’s their position.

'END THIS CRAZINESS'

Vote on ending shutdown will happen by 1 a.m. Monday, McConnell says

BREAKING NEWS
Senate is expected to vote at noon Monday

Updated 11:00 PM ET, Sun January 21, 2018

Vote on DACA by February 8th