Sticking to their guns over protection for 8,00,000 young illegal immigrants, Senate Democrats have voted against a must-pass spending bill and forced a shutdown of the US Government that coincided with President Donald Trump’s first anniversary in office.
“This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present,” Trump wryly commented in a morning tweet on Saturday — a day when he had planned a big bash at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Its fate was unclear as of Saturday morning.
While the impact of the shutdown itself will begin to be felt only from Monday, the Republicans have begun a bid for early resolution of the crisis by trying to entice the Democrats with a shorter-term funding measure.
The new compromise bid will be put to a floor vote later on Saturday.
Trump, who made a last-ditch bid to avert the shutdown by meeting with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer hours before the Friday night vote, slammed the Democrats for refusing to climb down from their demand that the spending bill must also address the “Dreamers” issue.
“Democrats are far more concerned with illegal immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border. They could have made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead,” he tweeted.
The critical Senate vote was preceded by a day of high drama, with attempts to strike new deals, all of which failed. If the Democrats were rigid on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), Trump himself was firm on funding provision for his wall project along the Mexican border.
After the fateful vote, the Republicans and Democrats launched a full-scale blame game. “Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown. Tonight, they put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country’s ability to serve all Americans,” a White House statement said.
The statement, put out by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, made it clear that the Trump Administration “will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands”.
“This is the behaviour of obstructionist losers, not legislators. When Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders we will reopen negotiations on immigration reform,” it said, adding: “During this politically manufactured Schumer Shutdown, the President and his Administration will fight for and protect the American people.”
Senator Schumer returned the fire a little later, putting the entire blame on the White House and terming it a “Trump shutdown”. Taking the Senate floor in the early hours of Saturday, Schumer said: “There’s no one more to blame for the position we find ourselves than President Trump. Instead of bringing us all together, he’s pulled us apart.”
“Every American knows the Republican Party controls the White House, the Senate, the House. It’s their job to keep the government open,” Schumer said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, slamming the Democrats for their “irresponsible” action, said: “What we have just witnessed on the floor was a cynical decision by Senate Democrats to shove aside millions of Americans for the sake of irresponsible, political games.”
He then came up with his belated compromise proposal of a slightly shorter funding measure to keep the government running till February 8. The time until then will be used for further negotiations to strike a deal on DACA and other immigration matters – if only Democrats pass the new measure.
The last US Government shutdown, lasting 16 days, was brought on by the Republicans in 2013 following a budget standoff over then President Barack Obama’s health care initiative.