With 60 votes necessary to pass a Continuing Resolution bill which would keep the federal government open and operating, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's bill fell way short last night with only 50 'yes' votes while 49 senators voted 'no.'
Sen. John McCain wasn't present due to his ongoing cancer battle.
The legislation, on top of keeping the government open for four more weeks while a budget would, in theory, be hammered out also included a 6-year extension in the Childrens Health Insurance Program which Republicans allowed to expire months ago.
Clearly, McConnell has held this in his backpocket to use as leverage to get the budget he wants.
But Senate Democrats held to their guns saying not only should CHIP be addressed (and it should) but also the issue of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or 'Dreamers' needs to be resolved now.
Several months ago, Donald Trump decided to end the program at random. Without DACA in force, 800,000 young people who were brought to the U.S. as children and live here without a criminal record could be deported.
So, here we are today as Senate and House leaders try to figure out how to solve this impasse.
Donald Trump, who apparently agreed to a deal that would address all of these issues last week, now says he is not willing to negotiate anything that deals with DACA for now. Many Washington insiders are blaming white nationalist and Trump adviser Stephen Miller who opposes any kind of immigration reform.
And so, we wait.
This is the first time a furlough of federal employees has occurred under single-party control of Congress and the White House. That would be the Republicans.
According to a recent poll, 48% of voters would hold Trump and the Republicans responsible for the government shutdown, only 28% would blame Democrats.
Where is the "Great Dealmaker?" Where is the "Great Negotiator" who says he knows how to bring people together to get a deal done?
Oh, that reminds me: today is the first anniversary of Donald Trump's inauguration as president.
It only took a year for him to shut down the government.
Another record broken... #MAGA
This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018
.@realDonaldTrump should heed his own words:— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 19, 2018
“if there is a shutdown I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He's the one that has to get people together.” #TrumpShutdown pic.twitter.com/pqbGAQf1Tx
"I'm A Great Dealmaker: That's What I Do " https://t.co/MfR8qllktf— Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) January 20, 2018
There's an outside chance the president is bad at deals. https://t.co/E5ROqMYjoe— Julius Goat 🦆 (@JuliusGoat) January 20, 2018
I love that @SenateMajLdr is pretending to care about CHIP kids. Dude, YOU LET CHIP EXPIRE NEARLY 120 DAYS AGO and then tried to use those kids as hostages!! #TrumpShutdown— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 20, 2018
New Yorker satirist #AndyBorowitz says, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders offers to lie for free during shutdown."— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) January 20, 2018
Trump is a self-proclaimed dealmaker who struggles to close deals, an unreliable negotiator who seems to promise one thing only to renege days, or even hours, later. And on Friday night, he watched as yet another deal slipped away. https://t.co/OyBhjYHgy9 pic.twitter.com/Y6X9nRvnKJ— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) January 20, 2018
A year ago @SpeakerRyan promised a Dreamer and her daughter *to their faces* that he would work with Trump to pass a legislative fix to protect people like them.
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) January 20, 2018
Mr. Speaker, you and @SenateMajLdr have the power to keep your promise and end the #TrumpShutdown at any time. pic.twitter.com/0elc8D6CBG
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