A bill to the end the government shutdown and fund the government through Feb. 8 passed swiftly in the House Monday, 266-150. Having passed the Senate earlier Monday afternoon, the legislation now heads to President Trump’s desk.
The House had last week, on mostly party lines, passed legislation to fund the government for four weeks. However, that bill was stalled by a filibuster by Senate Democrats and a few Senate Republicans early Saturday morning, prompting the three-day government shutdown that will end Monday.
The Senate agreed to reopen government Monday after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered to allow a vote on Senate legislation to address the so-called “DREAMers” — young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children — if there is not a broader immigration deal between the House and the White House.
Many House Democrats were frustrated that Senate Democrats folded on their filibuster, one of the few places that Democrats have any leverage when Republicans control both chambers and the White House.
Furthermore, House Republicans have made clear that they will not feel obligated to take up any potential bipartisan deal that comes out of the Senate.
“Republicans stayed consistent in our message: we said we would not negotiate resolving the DACA crisis in a shutdown and we’re glad the Democrats came around,” Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), who chairs the influential Republican Study Committee, told TPM has he headed into the vote.
Alice Ollstein contributed reporting
What is the point of a three week spending bill?
Ok now is the time to hit our Republican members of Congress on how much will it cost to deport 700,000 undocumented immigrants. How much will it cost to care for any US citizen children of those who get deported. This is the time to find out who is really a fiscal conservative and who who just hates the browns. Also there are something like 20K to 40K undocumented Irish here. How does throwing them out maintain our Western European culture?
Ever play ‘kick the can’ as a kid?
Kick the can and run like hell to your hiding place. It’s a kids’ game. Being played by very dangerous kids.
This will all be repeated in week 2.5.
And I’m not sure what anyone got out of it, quite yet.
Ari Melber is just killing Trump and his so-called promises about Dreamers.
Ending with Lindsey Graham, who says, “Mr. President, when you tell them to go home, the only home they know is America.”
This gets us three weeks closer to the Blue Tsunami and Mueller-fest. Patience, grasshoppers…