The government careened into a shutdown Saturday morning as Democrats made good on their threat to withhold votes to fund the government until Republicans agree to grant citizenship rights to illegal immigrant “Dreamers.”
The White House labeled Democrats “obstructionist losers” and said talks on immigration won’t start again until the government reopens.
Four Republicans assisted 44 Democrats Democrats in mounting the filibuster, blocking a bill that would have kept the government open four more weeks, which would have bought time for more negotiations.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer insisted they were close to a deal, saying he even put President Trump’s border wall “on the table” as a potential exchange for legalizing millions of illegal immigrants during a meeting earlier in the day, but he said the president wouldn’t agree to those terms.
Republicans said it made little sense to shut down the government over a Dreamer deadline that doesn’t truly hit until March 5, and said the result in the meantime will mean troops going without pay and civilians furloughed across most agencies.
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