Mitch McConnell Poised To Introduce Bill That Could End The Government Shutdown


On Tuesday, reports indicated that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell intends to introduce a bill that would effectively end the partial government shutdown. The shutdown has been going on for over 32 days after Donald Trump failed to get funding approved for his controversial border wall.

The announcement about the new plan comes after Trump failed to reach a compromise with House Democrats over the weekend. According to ABC News, the president said he would reopen the government, as well provide protections for undocumented immigrants who had come into the United States as children in exchange for funding on his wall. Democrats were quick to reject this proposal, calling it a retread of previously failed negotiation tactics.

Although there is no official word yet on what McConnell’s bill will include, it’s safe to say that funding for Trump’s wall will definitely be on the list, as well as funding to re-open the 25 percent of the government that has remained shut down for over a month. Additionally, aides told reporters that the proposal could include an extension on another bill that helps to protect women from domestic violence. Billions of dollars in disaster aid is rumored to be on the list as well.

Whether this new bill will be met with approval from a severely divided government remains to be seen. Trump has already doubled down on the wall, sharing a tweet on Tuesday morning that showed he is once again refusing to compromise on his $5.7 billion border wall budget.

“Without a Wall our Country can never have Border or National Security,” he wrote on Twitter. “With a powerful Wall or Steel Barrier, Crime Rates (and Drugs) will go substantially down all over the U.S. The Dems know this but want to play political games. Must finally be done correctly. No Cave!”

Nearly 800,000 federal workers have been without pay since the government shutdown began, and more and more are calling for politicians to find a way to bring it to an end. Many have been struggling to make ends meet without a regular paycheck — even those that are still being called into work.

McConnell could make his proposal public as early as Tuesday afternoon. However, whether it will win over House Democrats remains to be seen, and that is unlikely at best. Democrats have repeatedly stated they will not provide funding for the wall, which has been called unnecessary and unrealistic by critics. They’ve urged the president to re-open the government and keep the question of funding as a separate issue to address at a later time. Trump has previously refused this proposal.

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