Clarity On Mitch McConnell’s Plans Emerge: Agreement With Chuck Schumer Leads To Thursday Vote On Two Bills
Could an end to the current government shutdown finally be on the horizon? New details about a proposed vote in the Senate are emerging Tuesday afternoon, but not everybody is convinced that this will lead to an end to the shutdown quite yet.
As the Inquisitr detailed earlier on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had signaled that he was ready to introduce a bill that could pave the way toward ending the shutdown that has become the longest in history. Until now, it wasn’t clear what would be in the bill McConnell was ready to bring to the floor.
According to Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times via Twitter, McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have come to an agreement on a plan. Stolberg tweeted that two bills would be taken up on Thursday and both would allow for the government to reopen immediately if passed.
In a subsequent tweet, Stolberg added additional specifics. One bill would apparently be the Trump-approved bill that would include $5.7 billion in funding for his desired border wall. The problem with that bill, of course, is that it’s difficult to see how the Senate could garner 60 votes on that bill, even with what the president considered to be concessions to the Democrats.
The second bill is apparently the clean continuing resolution that was already passed by the House. That would reopen all parts of the government through February 8, creating a concern for many that this could set everybody up for another shutdown again right away. Both votes on Thursday would be procedural votes and would signal action of some sort toward trying to move past this.
There will be TWO votes on the Senate floor Thursday.
1. Trump bill with $5,7 billion for border wall.
2. Clean CR, already passed by House, to reopen shuttered agencies through Feb. 8.Both are procedural votes. First hint of a pathway out. https://t.co/rpj5K1TgZp
— Sheryl Gay Stolberg (@SherylNYT) January 22, 2019
The CR extending funding until February 8 would, in theory, get people working again and get paychecks in their hands while giving those involved more time to negotiate on a longer-lasting funding bill. It doesn’t resolve Trump’s demand to get $5.7 billion in border wall funding that Democrats oppose, but it perhaps buys some time.
As the New York Times details, this is the first sign of bipartisan progress since the shutdown began more than a month ago. Unfortunately, many believe that it’s a longshot that either bill will get the necessary votes.
Breaking News: Senate leaders reached a bipartisan deal that could reopen the government for a few weeks, allowing the State of the Union address to proceed https://t.co/OKRJL1jUOu
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 22, 2019
In fact, ABC News reporter Ali Rogin tweeted that aides from both McConnell and Schumer’s sides say that this announcement is not a sign of a deal coming together. Rather, apparently the decision to tackle doing both votes was announced so they would not have to keep the Senate in session through the upcoming weekend. Unfortunately, it sounds as if neither side anticipates there being enough votes to pass the short-term clean CR.
Will this week bring an end to the government shutdown thanks to McConnell and Schumer’s efforts to come up with a plan? It may well be too soon to assume anything about what will happen with these bills on Thursday, but this news does provide at least a slight glimmer of hope to many who are poised to miss their second paycheck this week as a result of the shutdown.
