Bill to avert government shutdown stalls in Senate as Democrats demand talks
Source: Washington Post
Congress headed out of Washington on Friday after spending legislation stalled in the Senate, leaving only two workdays to resolve a stalemate before a potential government shutdown would begin on Oct. 1.
The House passed a Republican-backed measure earlier in the day, largely along party lines, that would push the shutdown deadline to Nov. 21. But then the Senate rejected a Democrat-led proposal that would keep the government open through Oct. 31, as well as implement several Democratic priorities on health care and government spending, and also failed to pass the House bill.
The votes leave Congress without a solution to keep the government open past Sept. 30, when the fiscal year expires. Senators are leaving town for Rosh Hashanah until Sept. 29, when Republicans and Democrats will regroup just ahead of the deadline. House GOP leaders announced Friday afternoon that their members will not come back to town before the funding deadline — forcing the upper chamber to accept the Republican proposal or tip into a shutdown.
President Donald Trump thanked the House for passing its version of the legislation, but warned that a shutdown could be coming.
“We’ll continue to talk to the Democrats, but I think you could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
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Republican negotiation strategy: "My way or the highway. No compromises."