Shutdown to drag on with no House votes expected this week
By Juliegrace Brufke - 12/27/18 03:09 PM EST
The partial government shutdown is expected to drag on for at least several more days, with House GOP leaders saying Thursday they do not expect a vote this week to reopen the government.
On day six of the shutdown, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) advised members "that no votes are expected in the House this week."
"As the House awaits Senate action on remaining FY19 appropriations, we will aim to provide 24 hours' notice ahead of any expected votes in the House," Scalise's office added in a notice.
The Senate was scheduled to convene at 4 p.m. on Thursday, but no votes were expected until President Trump and congressional Democrats reach a deal to end a funding lapse that is affecting about 25 percent of the federal government.
Little progress has been made in negotiations as Democratic lawmakers and the White House remain at odds over funding for Trump’s proposed border wall.
“No end in sight to the President’s government shutdown,†Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) tweeted on Thursday. “He’s taken our government hostage over his outrageous demand for a $5 billion border wall that would be both wasteful and ineffective.â€
Trump earlier Thursday resumed his feud with congressional Democrats over border wall funding, claiming in a tweet that most of the hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed or forced to work without pay due to the shutdown are Democrats.
“Have the Democrats finally realized that we desperately need Border Security and a Wall on the Southern Border. Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking, Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country," he tweeted. "Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?"
The House passed a bill with $5.7 billion in border funding last week, including money for a wall, but the bill was viewed as dead on arrival in the Senate. Earlier in the week the Senate passed a measure to keep border security funding at current levels and with no money for Trump's border wall.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/423030-shutdown-to-drag-on-with-no-house-votes-expected-this-week