Government Shutdown Begins as Budget Talks Falter in Senate
- 6 years ago
Government Shutdown Begins as Budget Talks Falter in Senate
Earlier in the day, Mr. McConnell warned that the Senate was “just hours away from an entirely avoidable government shutdown.”
“This vote should be a no-brainer,” Mr. McConnell said, “and it would be, except the Democratic leader has convinced his members to filibuster any funding bill
that doesn’t include legislation they are demanding for people who came into the United States illegally.”
The standoff on immigration dates to September, when Mr. Trump moved to end an Obama-era program called
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which shields the young immigrants from deportation.
Then, in the early morning hours, Mr. McConnell proposed a measure
that would keep the government open for another three weeks, not four as the House measure would have done, and said the Senate would come back to into session at noon Saturday.
WASHINGTON — Much of the federal government officially shut down early Saturday morning after Senate Democrats, showing remarkable solidarity
in the face of a clear political danger, blocked consideration of a stopgap spending measure to keep the government operating.
Formal notifications are to be given as early as Saturday morning, budget office officials said, insisting on anonymity
to brief reporters about the details of what the White House called “lapse planning and shutdown operations.”
Agencies like the Energy Department that have funding
that is not subject to annual appropriations can use that money to stay open, the officials said, and the administration is encouraging them to do so.
Earlier in the day, Mr. McConnell warned that the Senate was “just hours away from an entirely avoidable government shutdown.”
“This vote should be a no-brainer,” Mr. McConnell said, “and it would be, except the Democratic leader has convinced his members to filibuster any funding bill
that doesn’t include legislation they are demanding for people who came into the United States illegally.”
The standoff on immigration dates to September, when Mr. Trump moved to end an Obama-era program called
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which shields the young immigrants from deportation.
Then, in the early morning hours, Mr. McConnell proposed a measure
that would keep the government open for another three weeks, not four as the House measure would have done, and said the Senate would come back to into session at noon Saturday.
WASHINGTON — Much of the federal government officially shut down early Saturday morning after Senate Democrats, showing remarkable solidarity
in the face of a clear political danger, blocked consideration of a stopgap spending measure to keep the government operating.
Formal notifications are to be given as early as Saturday morning, budget office officials said, insisting on anonymity
to brief reporters about the details of what the White House called “lapse planning and shutdown operations.”
Agencies like the Energy Department that have funding
that is not subject to annual appropriations can use that money to stay open, the officials said, and the administration is encouraging them to do so.