Senate Republicans are in no mood to be drawn back into another partial government shutdown and are signaling they will do just about anything to prevent one, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump was seen as losing the political fight over the first shutdown, the longest in U.S. history at 35 days, but has set a mid-February deadline for reaching a deal on spending that includes funds for his border wall, threatening another closure. The president is also mulling over whether to declare a national emergency in an attempt to bypass Congress and unilaterally order the building of the wall.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stressed that shutdowns don't work for anybody, "and I hope that they would be avoided."
John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, also emphasized that “There’s no appetite for government shutdowns and there is not much appetite for an emergency declaration.”
Although GOP leaders backed Trump over the fight for the wall, the threat of another shutdown could test their unity, especially after six Republican senators voted for a Democratic-backed continuing resolution last week that didn’t include wall funding.
Republican senators are proposing several ideas they hope will convince Democrats to agree to more border funding, such as a long-sought fix to protect DACA recipients.
In a potential sign of progress, both Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries have hinted there could be some leeway.
“We do not support a medieval border wall from sea to shining sea,” Jeffries said. “However, we are willing to support fencing where it makes sense. But it should be done in an evidence-based fashion.”
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