US government shutdown: Trump's plan to end closure fails as Senate considers interim deal
Two competing bills both failed to gain 60 votes to overcome cloture, and a short-term deal is reportedly being discussed behind the scenes
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Your support makes all the difference.Republican senators struck down a bill that would have temporarily reopened the federal government on Thursday, falling short of the 60 votes required to defeat a GOP filibuster.
The measure would have reopened federal agencies through 8 February to allow time for negotiations, an approach Republican leadership tried last month before being undercut by Donald Trump.
The president is now refusing to reopen the government until he gets a deal on funding for his long-sought border wall.
Polls have shown that the public is blaming Mr Trump for the shutdown and his approval numbers have sunk as the impasse drags on. The partial government shutdown is now in its 34th day. Federal workers are on the verge of missing another paycheck Friday.
Democrats also blocked Mr Trump’s request for $5.7bn to construct the wall, with a partisan 50-47 vote. The $350bn government-wide funding bill represented the first attempt by Republicans controlling the Senate to reopen the government since the shutdown began.
The measure would have also provided three years of continued protection against deportation for 700,000 immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she was willing to meet with the president “anytime” to discuss ending the partial government shutdown.
The California Democrat said House Democrats are putting together a new border security package that could provide a step toward a compromise. It will include money for fencing, technology, personnel and other measures, but not Mr Trump’s proposed wall.
The president responded in real time on Twitter saying, “very simply, without a Wall it all doesn’t work.... We will not Cave!”
Twin defeats might spur the two sides into a more serious effort to reach an agreement. With the impact of the shutdown becoming increasingly painful, lawmakers say they’re willing to compromise on border security and immigration policy.
Additional reporting by AP. Read below for our live coverage on the 34th day of the US government shutdown
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The New York Metro Transit Authority has announced it will provide unpaid federal employees free transit until the federal government has been reopened.
Bernie Sanders has tweeted the following message lambasting commerce chief Wilbur Ross over his comments questioning why unpaid federal employees require aid from food lines and additional programmes.
“Billionaires like Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Trump may not get it, but It's not complicated. Federal employees go to food banks because they have to feed their kids, and they can't do that without a paycheck. Mr. President,” the Vermont senator wrote.
He added, “End the shutdown you created.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has responded to commerce chief Wilbur Ross' controversial remarks:
"Those comments are appalling and reveal the administration's callous indifference towards the federal workers it is treating as pawns," he said. "Secretary Ross, they just can't call their stock broker and ask them to sell some of their shares."
Here's the moment everyone is talking about on Capitol Hill: Commer chief Wilbur Ross questioning why unpaid federal employees are showing up in food lines and applying for aid as the nation's longest government shutdown in history remains in full effect:
Larry Kudlow has responded to Wilbur Ross' controversial remarks about the government shutdown, saying he "frets" about the hardship nearly 800,000 federal employees are facing as the government remains shut down:
Donald Trump’s compromise to reopen the federal government has not secured enough votes to pass the US Senate.
Voting continues despite the bill being doomed to fail.
Here’s more from the Senate vote on Donald Trump’s proposal to reopen the government:
Two Republicans voted no on the bill, while one Democrat voted yes, bringing the vote to 50-47.
Here’s a live feed of lawmakers casting their votes against Donald Trump’s proposal to reopen the government:
Here's analysis from The Independent on the latest failed vote in the US Senate to reopen the federal government, and what it means for the agencies impacted by the closure:
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