The partial government shutdown is now in its fifth day. With the Senate out until Thursday and the two sides still far apart in their negotiations, it is very possible that the shutdown could last until after New Year’s Day. Democrats are scheduled to take over the control of the House on January 3.
Category: Pure Politics
How Long Will It Last?
With President Trump renewing his vow to shut down the government over wall funding, the question now, at least in the short term, seems to be, “How long will it last?”
Earlier this week, after the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government through February 8, it appeared that the President was backing away from his previous public proclamations that he welcomed a shutdown. Since then, he had another change of heart, forcing the House, which is controlled by Republicans until January 3, to take up and pass a new CR that included $5 billion for a wall along the border.
With the clock counting down towards a shutdown at midnight Saturday morning ET, various parties are now in negotiations over how to proceed. Congressional Democrats have reiterated that they have no interest in the $5 billion for the wall.
Regardless the result of the negotiations between two parties, the two chambers, and the different branches of government, the House is out of session until Noon ET tomorrow. This means that we will in likelihood be dealing with at least a short-term partial shutdown of the government. How long will it last? Stay tuned.
Two-Week CR Expected Today
Congress is expected to take up today a two-week continuing resolution to keep the entire federal government operating through December 21.
The negotiations between the different sides during this additional two-week window will determine what happens after the new shutdown deadline.
Pelosi Wins Democratic Nomination for Speaker
Yesterday, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) officially won the nod as the Democratic nominee for Speaker for the 116th Congress. The vote among Democrats was 203 to 32, with three abstentions.
With no other candidate running against her, even after a number of Democrats pledging not to back her as Speaker, her status as the Democratic nominee was not in question. However, as the Speaker must be elected by the entire House and not just the majority party, Pelosi must still go before the entire House when it convenes in January. It remains to be seen as to how many votes she’ll ultimately be able to garner in the chamber.
In addition to Pelosi’s nomination as Speaker, the House Democrats chose Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Jim Clyburn (D-SC) as the Majority Leader and Majority Whip, respectively.
Congress Returns To Try To Address Unresolved Issues
Both chambers of Congress return this week in an attempt to address several unresolved issues.
With respect to policy, the current continuing resolution (CR) that is funding programs and agencies supported by the seven unsigned appropriations bill runs out at midnight on December 8. Congress and the White House must come to an agreement on how to address their differences in order to prevent a partial shutdown of the government. The most high profile of these issues are the White House’s insistence on $5 billion for a border wall along the Southern border and the Congressional Democrats’ recent push on including provisions that would protect Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller in the final spending package. A host of other disagreements on lower profile must also be ironed out.
While another CR is possible, the 116th Congress, one in which Democrats will control the House, convenes on January 3. This fact may drive some of the negotiations during the lame duck session.
In preparation for the 116th Congress, the House Democrats are scheduled to elect their leadership team this Wednesday. The only remaining question about the elections is whether Nancy Pelosi will have enough support from her colleagues to return to the Speaker position. While there is no Member who has announced their candidacy in opposition to her, there seems to be some question as to how many Democrats will oppose her in the end.