Senate rejects competing spending bills to reopen government
WASHINGTON – The Senate Thursday afternoon rejected competing spending bills that if advanced would have paved the way toward ending the now-34-day-long partial government shutdown.
Sixty votes were needed for each to advance.
The Republican measure was modeled on a proposal made by President Donald Trump during a televised address on Saturday.
It would have provided $5.7 billion for a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border and granted a three-year extension on protections for DACA and TPS recipients. It would have funded outstanding executive departments through Sep. 30, 2019 and reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for that duration.
The Democratic measure was modeled on appropriations bills previously passed by the House of Representatives. It would have funded outstanding executive departments through Feb. 8, 2019.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed to the vote series during floor debate on Tuesday. Both proposals were considered likely to fail.
Throughout the week pundits predicted that if the proposals were defeated more serious talks to reopen the government might begin.
It remains to be seen if those predictions bear fruit.
Friday will mark the second time this month that about 800,000 federal workers will receive a paystub showing deferred pay.
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.