Two Votes Later, The Path Forward On Ending The Shutdown Remains Murky

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 15: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seen the Capitol after the Senate Policy luncheons in the Capitol on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

January 24, 2019 5:32 p.m.

By failing to do anything, members of Congress sent a message to the White House today: They’re stuck.

Democrats can’t pass a clean funding bill to reopen the government, and Mitch McConnell can’t gather the votes to pass the President’s plan. Today’s dueling votes were the biggest step by the Senate to resolve the shutdown since it began, and it didn’t work. What’s more, six Republican senators showed the President they were no longer with him: Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) all voted for the Democratic plan to fund the government without the wall.

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