Senate blocks measures to end U.S. shutdown, temporary solution eyed

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell

 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is surrounded by reporters as she leaves the U.S. Senate chamber and walks back to the House of Representatives side of the Capitol after watching the failure of both competing Republican and Democratic proposals to end the partial government shutdown in back to back votes on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis 

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two competing measures to end the partial U.S. government shutdown fell short in the Senate on Thursday, as lawmakers explored an option to end a month-long impasse with the White House and fund government operations for three weeks while talks continue.

 

A bill backed by Republican President Donald Trump to end the shutdown by funding the wall he wants to build on the U.S.-Mexico border and a separate bill supported by Democrats to reopen shuttered agencies without such funding did not get the votes required to advance in the 100-member chamber.

 

Immediately following the failed effort, Democratic and Republican senators spoke on the Senate floor and urged quick passage of a three-week, stopgap funding bill to end the partial government shutdown for now. Some Democrats pledged to support more border security funding than was included in the Democrats’ bill that was blocked in the Senate on Thursday.

 

But the White House issued a warning. A three-week funding bill would "only work if there is a large down payment on the wall," spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

 

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said a measure to temporarily reopen shuttered federal agencies would be unveiled later on Thursday to end the 34-day shutdown, which was triggered by Trump's demand for money to fund a wall.

 

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he had spoken to Trump about a three-week funding bill.

 

"All of us believe if we have three weeks with the government open that we could find a way forward to produce a bill that he would sign, that would be good for everybody in the country," Graham said on the Senate floor. “To my Democratic friends, money for a barrier is required to get this deal done."

 

Trump has touted Republican unity during the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

 

But in a sign of cracks in that resolve, or a desire for compromise, six Republican senators voted with Democrats on their measure to temporarily reopen government agencies without money for Trump’s wall. They included freshman Senator Mitt Romney, his party’s 2012 presidential nominee.

 

"Democrats have said they're not willing to negotiate unless the government's open. Well they tried their effort. I voted for it. It didn't happen. Now they've got to negotiate," Romney said.

 

'LET THEM EAT CAKE?'

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, told reporters earlier she was willing to meet with Trump to discuss the shutdown.

 

Her comments came one day after she essentially withdrew an invitation for Trump to give his State of the Union in the House chamber next Tuesday, saying that would not happen until the shutdown ended. Trump, who had planned to come despite the shutdown and considered giving the speech at another venue, conceded late on Wednesday and said he would deliver the speech in the House in the "near future."

 

Trump has said he wants $5.7 billion for a border barrier, opposed by Democrats, as part of any legislation to fund about a quarter of the federal government for the year. That demand, and Democrats' refusal to meet it, has sparked a shutdown of agencies that had not already received federal funding, leaving 800,000 federal workers, as well as private contractors, without pay and struggling to make ends meet, the effects on government services and the economy reverberating nationwide.

 

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday urged furloughed federal workers to seek loans to pay their bills while adding in a CNBC interview that he could not understand why they were having trouble getting by.

 

Pelosi denounced the comments.

 

"Is this the 'Let them eat cake' kind of attitude or 'Call your father for money?' or 'This is character building for you?'" Pelosi asked at a news conference.

 

She said she did not understand why Ross would make the comment "as hundreds of thousands of men and women are about to miss a second paycheck tomorrow."

 

Trump responded to Pelosi, without mentioning Ross.

 

"Nancy just said she 'just doesn’t understand why?' Very simply, without a Wall it all doesn’t work. Our Country has a chance to greatly reduce Crime, Human Trafficking, Gangs and Drugs. Should have been done for decades. We will not Cave!" he said in a tweet.

 

A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found more than half of Americans blamed Trump for the shutdown even as he has sought to shift blame to Democrats after saying last month he would be "proud" to close the government for border security.

 

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell; additional repoorting by Steve Holland; Writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-25

And all because Mexico will pay for the wall.

Stupid pissing contest.

I just watched Trump's response and he was asked about Wilbur Ross's statement and did he know that people were going to food banks to get food.  His comment was that financial institutions and GROCERY STORES were working with  furlough people to postpone payments.  That's total BS.

 

Could you imagine the reaction that you would get  if you loaded a basked for of food in Safeway and when you checked out you told them that you were an Air Traffic Controller and were not being paid and that you would come back and pay them for the groceries when the shutdown end3ed and you got your back pay.  Or Wilbuer Ross's recommendation to go get a  loan.  Did you ever apply for a loan when you had no income?  What a crock!

20 hours ago, wayned said:

I just watched Trump's response and he was asked about Wilbur Ross's statement and did he know that people were going to food banks to get food.  His comment was that financial institutions and GROCERY STORES were working with  furlough people to postpone payments.  That's total BS.

 

Could you imagine the reaction that you would get  if you loaded a basked for of food in Safeway and when you checked out you told them that you were an Air Traffic Controller and were not being paid and that you would come back and pay them for the groceries when the shutdown end3ed and you got your back pay.  Or Wilbuer Ross's recommendation to go get a  loan.  Did you ever apply for a loan when you had no income?  What a crock!

Now that right there sounds like something Micheal Moore should try to do, with camera crew in trail.. it would be as funny as <deleted>... (who’s quite funny, imo????)

Maybe they could get loans if they applied at Deutsche Bank and put Trump  as a reference!  Reason for loan:  I have no money to pay my bills or feed my family and will have to file bankruptcy but I know that you launder Russian money!

5 hours ago, webfact said:

 

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday urged furloughed federal workers to seek loans to pay their bills while adding in a CNBC interview that he could not understand why they were having trouble getting by.

Just goes to show that politicians, all around the world, can't relate to the ordinary working man.

2 hours ago, wayned said:

I just watched Trump's response and he was asked about Wilbur Ross's statement and did he know that people were going to food banks to get food.  His comment was that financial institutions and GROCERY STORES were working with  furlough people to postpone payments.  That's total BS.

Does not live in the real world.

2 hours ago, wayned said:

I just watched Trump's response and he was asked about Wilbur Ross's statement and did he know that people were going to food banks to get food.  His comment was that financial institutions and GROCERY STORES were working with  furlough people to postpone payments.  That's total BS.

Not surprising.  Trump's first inclination is to lie.  The man can't help himself.  He would rather give a totally asinine, nonsensical lie than to actually tell the truth.  The man has no honor.

 

I wish someone would ask Trump about the impact on law enforcement.  He's supposed to be all about cracking down on gangs like MS-13.  Well his shutdown is having some serious impact....

 

[A FBI agents' advocacy group released a report Tuesday that said the shutdown has already had a major impact, including: the FBI having lost informants that had penetrated groups at the center of terrorism investigations, drug investigations being hampered due to a loss of funding for controlled purchases and problems translating evidence in a multi-year investigation into the MS-13 gang.]

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/justice-department-prepares-memo-for-white-house-outlining-impacts-of-shutdown-continuing-into-march/ar-BBSHXka?ocid=wispr

 

 

I did a quick Goole search for Wilbur Ross and found this on Wikipedia.

 

You can believe what the link says or not or even do your own research.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Ross

 

Representation of investors in casinos owned by Donald Trump[edit]

In the 1980s, Donald Trump was in financial trouble. His three casinos in Atlantic City were under foreclosure threat from lenders. Ross, who was then the senior managing director of Rothschild Inc., represented investors in the casino. Along with Carl Icahn, Ross convinced bondholders to strike a deal with Trump that allowed Trump to keep control of the casinos.[13][14]

 

There a lot more about Ross further down the page.

 

Pure as the melting slush is Mr Ross.

Ross is my favorite Cabinet Secretary, by the time he says his name I am fast asleep!     I'm surprised that SNL doesn't have skits about him but  they would need to extend their air time to have them. A true Trumpeteer who doesn't have a clue what real life is!

Trump has backed himself into a corner he cannot now easily get out of.

BOOM

 

Trump announces deal to lift shutdown http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47007081

 

Trump's total and utter surrender to Nancy. Scary Annie ain't going to be happy. 

I think that he's met his match!  Trump = 0, Pelosi  = 2, a total cave in!  I can't wait for  Coulter's, Ingram's, Limbaugh's and Hannity's response! Open the government and no money, "0", for the wall, isn't that what Pelosi told him 35 days ago? I bet that he's passing orange turds!

The most powerful woman in American history Nancy Pelosi owns amateur "trump" -- he didn't get his great ego WALL of race baiting, not one penny for it, but the world got to watch his CAVE. 

Quote

 

Trump lost. Period.

Things continue until they don’t. The senseless, cruel government shutdown ended on Friday.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/25/president-trump-lost-period/

 

I love the News titles this morning,

 

paraphrasing:

 

NYT: "...Trump retreats from wall..."

CNN: "Trump concedes...without wall funding."

Bloomberg: "Vote shuts down Trump."

 

quoting:

 

FOX: "Trump, Democrats reach temporary deal to end shutdown."

 

The Trump fan club lives in an alternate reality. 

 

????

 

Trump must be related to Humpty Dumpty!  He just fell off his wall and all of his cronies and trumpeters are trying to put him back together again! 

What a lot of good news we’re getting today.

 

 

His next move will be to get Pelosi to agree to rescheduling the SOTU speech.  I expect her to tell him to pick a date after 15 February and if he shuts down the government again on the 15th he is still not welcome and she will not introduce the required resolution for the joint congressional meeting.

 

He's put the ball back on the 50 yard line but the game is far from over unless the referees are the same ones that were used in the New Orleans vs LA Rams game.  I haven't seen any comments from his supporters about his cave-in!

2 minutes ago, wayned said:

His next move will be to get Pelosi to agree to rescheduling the SOTU speech.  I expect her to tell him to pick a date after 15 February and if he shuts down the government again on the 15th he is still not welcome and she will not introduce the required resolution for the joint congressional meeting.

 

He's put the ball back on the 50 yard line but the game is far from over unless the referees are the same ones that were used in the New Orleans vs LA Rams game.  I haven't seen any comments from his supporters about his cave-in!

“ I haven't seen any comments from his supporters about his cave-in!”

 

They’re awaiting instructions from Fox News.