On January 19, 2018, the Senate failed to pass a crucial procedural vote on the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open past midnight, as Republicans were unable to garner the 60 votes necessary for passage. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Joe Manchin III (D-WV), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Doug Jones (D-AL) — all of whom face tough paths to reelection in red states, crossed the aisle to join Republicans in voting to end debate on the bill. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) joined Democrats in voting against ending debate.

Following the vote, the White House issued a statement putting the blame squarely on Democrats. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that Democrats "put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country's ability to serve all Americans." The statement continued that "we will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold out lawful citizen's hostage over their reckless demands." As the clock struck midnight, Senators continued discussions on the floor of the Senate, with Democrats offering motions to extend government funding for a short period of time to continue debate.

The Senate adjourned without passing a funding extension, and will reconvene at noon tomorrow with votes possible through the day. Before adjourning, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered an amendment to change the date of the House-passed CR to February 8, which includes funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax delays, then filed cloture. The House would still need to approve the measure and it would need to be signed by President Trump to end the shutdown, which technically began midnight Friday.

Congress has been stalled in its negotiations to keep the government funded as Senate Democrats insisted the latest CR include a legislative fix for "Dreamers," as the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program approaches on March 5. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), however, resisted attempts by Democrats to attach DACA to a short-term funding bill and also opposed a days-long CR proposed by Democrats to let negotiations continue. Members of both parties have grown impatient with the use of CRs to fund the government on a temporary basis, rather than regular appropriations bills or an omnibus through the end of the fiscal year. Democrats have shifted blame onto Republicans due to their control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, while Republicans blame Democrats for refusing to pass the House-passed CR to keep the government running.

Earlier, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said lawmakers were on the "10-yard line" on a range of issues — including immigration, budget caps and a package of health-care bills — that could be resolved in a "short period of time." He noted that a resolution on spending cap levels, funding for CHIP, payments to stabilize the ACA insurance markets, disaster funding, and protections for the "Dreamers" could be added to a February omnibus spending deal.

Alternative funding proposals

In a last ditch effort to avoid a shutdown, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met with President Trump, but emerged without an agreement and noted a lot of work was left to be done. Senator Schumer also pushed a Democratic proposal with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that would adopt the DREAM Act, providing permanent residence for almost 700,000 undocumented immigrants currently covered under DACA. It would also permanently reauthorize funding for CHIP, provide $90 billion in disaster aid, increase budget caps by $54 billion for both defense and nondefense spending, provide five years of funding for community health centers and extend other health care programs, and provide $1.6 billion for border security, among other provisions.

Four members of congressional leadership — Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John Cornyn (R-TX) along with Representatives Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), also met to continue discussing a potential deal on DACA. Senator Durbin noted a deal was possible in the next four or five days, and that Democrats would support a days-long CR.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who came out against the House-passed CR, pushed for a three- to four-week CR with a promise to work toward agreements on immigration and spending limits.

Even if the Senate comes to agreement, it is unclear how it will fare in the House. Earlier, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, wouldn't commit to back a shorter funding patch if sent over from the Senate, noting he would have to see the bill. The Freedom Caucus struck a deal with Republican leadership yesterday to support the CR that passed Thursday night in exchange for promises on defense spending and a conservative immigration bill.

The House-approved CR would have funded the government through February 16, extended CHIP for six years, and delayed three health-related tax provisions imposed by ACA, along with other provisions. House Republicans initially signaled they would be going home after approving their spending package, but Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) later said he was prepared to stay through the weekend and would bring committee members together "as quickly as there is an agreement."

Shutdown details

This is the first shutdown since 2013, when tea party Republicans sought to delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and voted against a similar must-pass funding bill, resulting in a 17-day shutdown. In general, only government operations and employees deemed "essential" — like those in the military and law enforcement — will continue to work during a government shutdown, but would not get paid until after the shutdown ends. Programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and disability insurance would also be largely unaffected, and current beneficiaries would continue to receive their benefits. Each federal agency has a shutdown plan, written in consultation with the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

A prolonged federal government shutdown could be especially problematic for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which the short-term spending bill would have funded for six years. The program expired last September, and although there was a temporary measure in the last CR to fund state programs through March, CMS has reported some states could run out of funding as soon as Friday. A shutdown could also cause turmoil for implementation of the new tax law by the IRS, and disrupt the start of the tax filing season. A contingency plan released by the Treasury Department on Friday excludes mention of activities related to implementing the new tax law as exempt from a shutdown, but some tax season planning would continue.

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