Live coverage: House, Senate in scramble as shutdown looms

 

8:55 p.m.

 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blasted Democrats, saying they are holding the country “hostage” over illegal immigration.

 

“We ought to pass this resolution and we ought to get back to work,” he said of the stopgap spending measure to avert a government shutdown.

McConnell added that the military and children are being “shoved aside” by Democrats who are opposing the House bill, which includes a six-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Schumer fired back, saying McConnell is “looking to deflect blame but it just won’t work.”

“Our leader, our Republican leader, has said he will not negotiate until he knows where President Trump stands,” he said. 

Ryan warns Schumer: Don’t shut down the government

8:45 p.m.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) warned Schumer on Thursday night against letting the government shut down, minutes after the House voted to avert a shutdown.

“Sen. Schumer, do not shut down the federal government. Do not jeopardize funding for our military and for our national security. Do not jeopardize funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program,” Ryan told reporters after the successful House vote.

“It is risky. It is reckless. And it is wrong,” he continued.

Senate prepares to start funding votes 

8:35 p.m.

The Senate is expected to quickly take up the House-passed funding bill.

First, senators are expected to have a noncontroversial vote to proceed to the legislation. With only a simple majority needed that vote is expected to pass.

Then, GOP leadership will need 60 votes to end debate on the bill. That vote could take place immediately after the first vote or senators could punt it to Friday.

Either way, with Democrats and at least three Republicans expected to vote “no,” Republicans will likely fall short.

McConnell hasn’t laid out what comes next after the House bill fails to overcome the procedural hurdle.

But he’s expected to switch his vote on the bill, a procedural move that will let him bring it back up and potentially force Democrats to repeatedly vote against the government funding bill.

House approves stopgap measure, shifting shutdown drama to Senate

7:40 p.m.

The House on Thursday night approved a stopgap measure to keep the government open less than 36 hours before a possible shutdown, shifting the drama to a Senate where Democrats are threatening to block the GOP bill.

The final vote was 230-197, with six Democrats voting for the measure and 11 Republicans voting against it. The Senate is expected to vote on a procedural motion later Thursday to take up the House bill.

Deciding vote on government funding bill could face delay in Senate

7:27 p.m.

The four-week spending stopgap measure pending in the House is expected to fail in the Senate, but a deciding vote in the upper chamber may not take place until Friday or even Saturday.

If the House passes its bill funding the government until Feb. 16, it would first undergo a procedural vote on a motion to proceed to the legislation in the Senate, which requires only a simple majority and is expected to pass, according to Senate aides.

After clearing the initial procedural hurdle, McConnell  would need to round up 60 votes to advance the bill past a Democratic filibuster.

As things stand, McConnell is likely to fall well short. 

Under the rules, Senate Democrats — or an intransigent Republican — can postpone the 60-vote hurdle vote until Saturday.

McConnell would need unanimous consent from all of his colleagues to vote on the issue Thursday evening, immediately after the motion to proceed passes, or Friday morning.

Freedom Caucus chairman outlines leadership agreement

7:15 p.m.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) outlined the contours of the deal reached with GOP leadership to reporters just before the House floor vote Thursday night on the stopgap spending bill.

In exchange for Freedom Caucus support on the funding bill, leadership promised to hold a vote within the next 10 legislative days on a defense spending bill along with a provision to bust the spending caps for defense programs.

“Our major ask in all of this has been that we break this cycle that has held our military hostage,” Meadows said.

Leaders also committed to “work aggressively” to whip an immigration bill authored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and to bring conservative immigration legislation to the House floor in the coming weeks.

House Freedom Caucus endorses GOP deal

6:23 p.m.

“The majority of the @freedomcaucus has taken a vote to support the CR effort this evening,” the caucus tweeted.

While the deal sets the stage for House passage, it does not ensure that Congress will avoid a government shutdown Friday night. Senate Democrats, supported by at least three Republicans, said they have the votes to block the initial House bill in the upper chamber. And the new changes, designed to attract conservatives, could alienate even more Senate Democrats.

 

 

6:13 p.m. 

 

The House Freedom Caucus and GOP leadership appear to have reached a tentative deal to lock down the conservative group’s support for the CR, putting the House on track to pass a stopgap bill.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) emerged from a meeting in Speaker Ryan’s office saying that leadership promised to have separate votes to help improve military readiness and address other national security issues. They would not be attached to the CR, he added.

 

Meadows is urging the rest of the caucus to accept the offer. The group is now meeting in Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) office.

 

 

Freedom Caucus members huddled earlier in the day to hash out their strategy.  

 

Trump, on the way back from Pennsylvania, called directly into the meeting to help negotiate a deal, according to two sources. 

 

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said they came up with a proposal for leadership, but declined to name their demands, only saying it involved a “commitment” on “national security.”