At 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, December 22, 2018, 25 percent of the federal government will shutdown after the U.S. Senate adjourned just before 8:30 p.m. without making a deal to fund the government. Senators are expected to return to the Hill tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. to deliberate the spending package that includes $5.7 billion in border wall funding, but it leaves Washington in partisan gridlock as Christmas looms.
Late Thursday night, the Republican House majority passed the funding measure contingent on President Donald Trump‘s demand for at least $5 billion in funding to construct his campaign promise of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Though, the House adjourned around 7:30 p.m., essentially leaving it in the hands of a Senate that did not have the votes to pass the funding measure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) explained that the 51-vote “nuclear option” was off the table after Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and other GOP lawmakers stated that they would deny the bill’s passage. Some have claimed they are pushing for alternative immigration measures.
Nevertheless, the President has reiterated that he would be “proud” to shut down the government over funding for the wall, adding that he “will not sign” short-term legislation that funds the government without it.
Trump insisted during an Oval Office meeting last week that he would take ownership of a partial government shutdown over the U.S.-Mexico border wall. “I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down,” he reiterated. However, just hours ago, Trump went to Twitter to say that “The Democrats now own the shutdown!”
The President, who said that he cancelled his trip to his Mar-a-Lago resort house in Palm Beach, Florida, added that he will “wait to see if the Democrats will help us to protect America’s Southern Border!”
Regardless, as the President has been known to be unpredictable as to what legislation he signs, it is quite uncertain how long the shutdown will last.
