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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, center, speaks as Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, left, and Senator Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, listen during a news conference after a GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018.
The Senate will introduce a short-term measure to fund the government Wednesday as an impasse over President Donald Trump’s border wall threatens a partial government shutdown.
The bill would fund the government through Feb. 8, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced. The Senate will take up the measure later Wednesday, the Kentucky Republican said. Lawmakers need to pass spending bills by midnight Friday to avoid a partial shutdown.
The plan would push the ongoing debate over immigration and border security into next year, when Democrats will hold control of the House and Nancy Pelosi will likely be speaker.
“We need the government to remain open for the American people,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.
House Democrats likely would not object to the bill to fund the government through February, a senior Democratic aide told CNBC on Wednesday before McConnell’s announcement. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats would “very seriously consider” a short-term bill to avoid a shutdown if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered one, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday. Senate Republicans need nine Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote threshold to pass spending bills, while House Republicans do not need Democratic support for the bill.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request to comment on whether Trump would back a short-term spending bill. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president would want to see what Congress passes before he decides whether to sign it. Last week, Trump said he would be “proud” to shut down the government over the border wall.
The short-term bill would mean Trump would fall short once again in his ongoing effort to secure money for the wall, one of his key campaign promises. He pledged to get Mexico to fund the barrier, which America’s southern neighbor has repeatedly refused to do. Trump sees stoking fear of illegal immigration as one of his core political appeals.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Trump seemed to justify his potential shortcoming in getting wall funding from Congress. He claimed “Mexico is paying (indirectly)” for the structure through his revision to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a dubious assertion that the White House has struggled to explain. He also contended that the U.S. military will construct the wall — a process that could also require congressional appropriations.
Trump tweet
Trump has also explained his potential failure by claiming the government has already started to build large portions of the border wall. However, Congress only passed funds to construct or replace fencing similar to existing structures.
If funding for parts of the government lapses, it would be the third shutdown this year. Impasses over immigration contributed to the two government closures early in the year.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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