Will there be Another Partial Government Shutdown?

It all depends on whether or not a deal can be made before the end of Friday, February 15, 2019.

The 2018–2019 partial government shutdown lasted 35 days.

Here’s what happened before Friday, February 15:

• February 10, 2019: The Hill posted an article titled: “Key GOP senator: Border wall talks are stalled”. From the article:

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), a key negotiator on President Trump’s demand for a border wall, said on Sunday that congressional talks are stalled, raising the prospect of another government shutdown at week’s end…

…Democrats have told GOP negotiators that they won’t agree to spend more than $2 billion on border barriers, well below the $5.7 billion that Trump has called for.

In addition, a new issue has roiled the talks: a dispute over the number of beds at immigrant detention centers.

Democrats want to limit the number of people detained at the border, while Republicans oppose restricting the capacity of detention centers…

• February 11, 2019: The Guardian posted an article titled: “Party leaders reach deal to avoid fresh US government shutdown”. From the article:

Democratic and Republican leaders announced late Monday that they had reached a deal to avoid a government shutdown when funding under a stopgap agreement expires at midnight on Friday.

The proposal would require the signature of Donald Trump to avert a new shutdown.

The agreement would allocate far less money for Trump’s border wall than the White House’s $5.7bn wish list, settling for a figure of nearly $1.4bn, according to congressional aides. The funding measure is through the fiscal year, which ends 30 September.

The agreement means 55 miles of new fencing — constructed through existing designs such as metal slats instead of a concrete wall — but far less than the 215 miles the White House demanded in December. The fencing would be built in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas…

…Negotiators have been trying to reach a deal to fund nine government departments that partially closed for 35 days in December and January. Trump and congressional Democrats agreed on 25 January to temporarily fund the departments and negotiate a funding solution by 8 February.

Talks most recently broke down on Sunday, reportedly over a disagreement about the maximum number of undocumented immigrants who might be detained at any one time…

…The shutdown cost the economy $11bn and reduced growth forecasts by almost half a percentage point, the congressional budget office estimated…

…The negotiators at work in Washington on Monday included four Democrats and four Republicans. They are a cut-out of a larger group of 17 members of Congress assigned to seek a deal after the historic shutdown ended on 25 January…

• February 11, 2019: Politico posted an article titled: “‘It will create a firestorm’: Mulvaney’s border wall cash grab sparks dissent in White House”. From the article:

The White House is firming up plans to redirect unspent federal dollars as a way of funding President Donald Trump’s border wall without taking the dramatic step of invoking a national emergency.

Done by executive order, this plan would allow the White House to shift money from different budgetary accounts without congressional approval, circumventing Democrats who refuse to give Trump anything like the $5.7 billion he has demanded. Nor would it require a controversial emergency declaration.

The emerging consensus among acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and top budget officials is to shift money from two Army Corps of Engineers’ flood control projects in Northern California, as well as from disaster relief funds intended for California and Puerto Rico. The plan will also tap unspent Department of Defense funds for military construction, like family housing or infrastructure for military bases, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations…

…But the strategy is far from a cure-all for a president with no good options, and it has already sparked debate within the White House. Moving funds by executive order is virtually certain to draw instant court challenges, with opponents, including some powerful members of Congress, arguing the president is encroaching on the legislative branch’s constitutional power to apporpriate funds…

• February 12, 2019: BBC posted an article titled: “US border security deal reached to avert new shutdown”. From the article:

Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement in principle over border security to fund the US government and avert another partial shutdown.

The agreement contains only a fraction of the money President Donald Trump wants for his promised border wall and does not mention a concrete barrier.

The deal still needs to be approved by Congress and signed by the president…

…The Democrats — who now control the House of Representatives — have refused to approve the $5.7bn …for Mr Trump’s wall on the border with Mexico, one of his key campaign pledges.

Lawmakers have expressed optimism that a bill would be approved by Friday when funding runs out for some federal agencies…

• February 12, 2019: The Hill posted an article titled: “Trump criticizes border wall deal: ‘Can’t say I’m happy’”. From the article:

President Trump on Tuesday knocked a bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown, but suggested he could still get his long-desired border wall built and expressed confidence the government would remain open.

“I’m not happy about it. It’s not doing the trick,” Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

“I’m adding things to it, and when you add whatever I have to add, it’s all going to happen where we’re going to build a beautiful, big, strong wall,” the president continued.

The government will enter another partial shutdown on Saturday if Trump does not sign the agreement, which was struck by Capitol Hill negotiators just one day earlier and contains only a fraction of the money he demanded for a wall along the U.S. — Mexico border.

Trump predicted there would not be a shutdown but added: “if you did have it, it’s the Democrats fault.”

“I would hope that there won’t be a shutdown,” he said. “I am extremely unhappy with what the Democrats have given us. It’s sad. They’re doing the country no favors.”…

…A bipartisan committee reached the deal on Monday night after talks appeared to have reached a stalemate over the weekend amid an intense fight over whether the number of detention beds should be capped. Negotiators cast the deal as the best solution to avert a shutdown…

• February 12, 2019: President Donald Trump tweeted: “Was just presented the concept and parameters of the Border Security Deal by hard working Senator Richard Shelby. Looking over all aspects knowing that this will be hooked up with lots of money from other sources…”
• February 12, 2019: President Donald Trump followed that tweet with another tweet: “…Will be getting almost $23 BILLION for Border Security. Regardless of Wall money, it is being built as we speak!”
• February 12, 2019: PBS News Hour posted an article titled: “The latest border security deal, explained”. From the article:

…Key Highlights:

Border Barriers: $1.375 billion. That will fund the construction of 55 miles of barriers in the Rio Grande valley. Democrats say this will be “bollard” or steel-slat construction.

Detention space: Funding for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain an average of 45,274 people a day for the rest of this fiscal year.

Unknown amount of funding for new immigration judges: Final terms have not yet been made public…

…Will Trump use executive power for more wall funding? Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, has said that Trump will look at using his executive power to find other money for the wall that would supplement the funding approved by the House and Senate. As Mulvaney said Sunday on Meet the Press: “Whether or not he gets $1.6 billion from Congress, whether or not he gets $2.5 or $5.7, he’s going to do whatever he legally can to secure that border.” Mulvaney has not specified exactly where the funds might come from. Trump has also been adamant that he will build the wall no matter what happens in Congress, a promise he repeated Monday at a campaign rally in El Paso, Texas.

What’s next: If Trump maneuvers to get more wall money, it could end up in court, since it’s likely an attempt to redirect funds for a wall that would face legal challenges.

• February 12, 2019: The Hill posted an article titled: “McConnell: Trump should sign funding deal”. From the article:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he hopes President Trump will sign a deal struck this week to prevent a second government shutdown.

“I have recommenced that if it becomes what we think it is, I do recommend he sign it,” McConnell told reporters. “I think he’s got a pretty good deal here.”

McConnell’s comments come as Trump is waffling over whether he will support the deal…

…The agreement in principle reached on Monday night would fund roughly a quarter of the government for the remainder of the 2019 fiscal year and provides $1.375 billion for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I think he’s done just fine. I hope he’ll conclude that because he’s got to sign the bill,” McConnell said Tuesday about Trump. “I’m hoping that he will sign this agreement.”…

• February 13, 2019: President Donald Trump tweeted: “I want to thank all Republicans for the work you have done in dealing with the Radical Left on Border Security. Not an easy task, but the Wall is being built and will be a great achievement and contributor toward life and safety within our Country!”
• February 13, 2019: NBC News posted an article titled: “Trump blocking contractor back pay in gov’t funding deal, lawmaker says”. From the article:

President Donald Trump is blocking a measure to give back pay to federal contractors affected by last month’s government shutdown as part of a bipartisan agreement to avert another federal closure, a Republican lawmaker says.

“I’ve been told the president won’t sign that,” Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told reporters Wednesday. He added, “I guess federal contractors are different in his view than federal employees.”

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were furloughed or required to work without pay during the spending impasse that led to the 35-day shutdown. In past shutdowns, Congress has agreed to provide back pay to government workers, but that generally has not extended to federal contractors.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are pushing the provision, which has the support of many Republicans. Lawmakers argue there should be some relief for contractors affected by the shutdown, which was the longest in history. A number of Republicans have pointed to precedent, however, saying they have never given back pay to contractor after previous shutdowns…

• February 13, 2019: Al Jazeera News posted an article titled: “Trump hints at backing funding deal to dodge gov’t shutdown”. From the article:

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday edged toward backing a deal in Congress on funding for a barrier on the Mexican border, on funding for a barrier on the Mexican border, but left open the possibility that disputes over the wall could still cause a partial government shutdown by the weekend…

…But the Republican president fell short of committing himself to backing the congressional deal, which would keep the government open but not give Trump the $5.7bn he seeks for the wall.

“I don’t want to see a shutdown. A shutdown would be a terrible thing. I think a point was made with the last shutdown. People realized how bad the border is, how unsafe the border is, and I think a lot of good points were made,” Trump told reporters.

Congress, which faces a tight deadline to pass legislation to avert another US government shutdown, is considering a compromise measure that does not deliver all the funds Trump had demanded to build the wall…

• February 13, 2019: New York Magazine posted an article titled: “Trump Has Willed the Wall Into Existence With His Mind”. From the article:

…The U.S.-Mexico border runs for nearly 2,000 miles. Early in his campaign, Trump conceded that natural barriers cover half that length. He inherited 654 miles of border fencing, and promised a wall covering the full 654 miles. This would mean upgrading most or all of the additional fencing to “wall” status — making it taller, stronger, or wallier — and adding another 350 miles or so of new wall.

He has so far added zero to that total. Yet the wall was never a material infrastructure project, but instead a symbol of defiance and order. Trump is clearly signaling a new stage in which he is abandoning its physical manifestations and conjuring it into reality.

In his speech Monday night in El Paso, Trump responded to the familiar chants of “build that wall!” by assuring the crowd the project was well underway. “Now, you really mean ‘finish that wall,’ because we’ve built a lot of it. It’s ‘finish that wall.’ We have,” he said. “The wall’s being built. It’ll continue. It’s going at a rapid pace.”…

…In a speech to police officers on Wednesday, Trump elaborated on this imaginary wall. “The wall is very very on its way,” he promised. It is extremely tall — “You’re gonna have to be in extremely good shape to get over this one,” he informed his audience…

• February 14, 2019: Burgess Everett (POLITICO congressional reporter) tweeted: “Chuck Grassley asks the Senate to pray that Trump will sign the spending bill”
• February 14, 2019: Sahil Kapur (National political reporter for Bloomberg News) tweeted: “News: Democrats @ AyannaPressley @ AOC @ RashidaTlaib @ IlhanMN say they’ll vote NO on the bipartisan deal to avert a shutdown because DHS “does not deserve an increase in funding.”’

The tweet included a screenshot of a Joint Statement from Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley and Tlaib on the FY 2019 Government Funding Package. It said:

Today, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) issued a statement in response to the FY2019 government funding package released this morning:

“In this country, our diversity is our greatest strength. Immigrants fuel our nation’s economy, enrich our nation’s culture, and enhance our social fabric. Quite simply, we are a better nation because of our immigrants.

“And yet, this Administration continues to threaten the dignity and humanity of our immigrant population. The Department of Homeland Security has separated thousands of children from their parents, denied asylum to those fleeing danger, and used taxpayers dollars as a slush fund to incite terror in immigrant communities. The efficacy of a government agency must be determined by assessing ‘outcomes.’ By any reasonable measure, Donald Trump’s weaponization of ICE and CBP has been a failure. The Department of Homeland Security does not deserve an increase in funding, and that is why we intend to vote no on this funding package.

“The funding bill on the floor today does not address any of our concerns, and instead gives more money to these abusive agencies:

This bill gives $14.9 billion to CBP, nearly $950 million above current funding level.

This bill gives $7.6 billion to ICE, an increase of more than $500 million.

The bill provides $1.37 billion for 55 miles of a border wall.

This bill includes funding for an 11% increase in detention beds-an average of more than 45,000 per day, providing ICE the ability to detain 5,000 additional people per day.

“We want to be abundantly clear: This is not a rebuke of federal workers or those who depend on the services they provide, but a clear rejection of the hateful policies, priorities, and rhetoric of the Trump Administration.”

• February 14, 2019: President Donald Trump tweeted: “Reviewing the funding bill with my team at the @ WhiteHouse!”
• February 14, 2019: Kaitlan Collins (Covers the White House for CNN) tweeted: “News — President Trump’s aides now say they are less certain he will sign the bipartisan spending compromise, a major shift from earlier this week when they indicated privately he would. He is increasingly concerned about what’s in the 1,100-page legislation. W @Kevinliptakcnn”
• February 14, 2019: The Guardian posted in its live feed about the potential 2019 government shutdown: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell just announced on the Senate floor that President Donald Trump will sign the government funding bill but will also immediately declare a national emergency in order to build a border wall at the same time.”
• February 14, 2019: The Guardian posted in its live feed about the potential 2019 government shutdown: “House majority leader Steny Hoyer just weighed in on the announcement that Trump would declare a national emergency in an interview with MSNBC.” Steny Hoyer said:

“I think declaring a national emergency where there is no national emergency is not good for the president to do and not good precedent for future presidents.”

• February 14, 2019: Sarah Sanders (White House Press Secretary) tweeted: “President Trump will sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action — including a national emergency — to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border. The President is Once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country.” Sarah Sanders”.
• February 14, 2019: The Guardian reported in its live feed about the potential 2019 government shutdown: “Sarah Sanders was just asked by reporters about potential legal challenges to a national emergency declaration.” Sarah Sanders said:

“We’re very prepared, but there shouldn’t be [legal challenges]. The president’s doing his job. Congress should do theirs.”

• February 14, 2019: Senate Press Gallery tweeted: “83–16 #Senate ADOPTED the Conference Report to Accompany H.J. Res. 1, Appropriations Package.”

The tweet included a list of Senators voting “NO”: Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Tom Cotton (R-Arizona), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), Kamala Harris (D- California), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), and Elizabeth Warren (D- Massachusetts).

One senator did not vote: Richard Burr (R-North Carolina).

The Guardian noted in its live feed about the potential 2019 government shutdown: “The Senate just passed the government funding by a lopsided margin of 83–16. The 16 against were a mix of ardent conservatives and Democrats running for President.”

• February 14, 2019: Speaker Nancy Pelosi posted a joint statement with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on the Speaker of the House website. The statement was titled: “Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement On the Possibility of President Trump Declaring a National Emergency”. From the statement:

… “Declaring a national emergency would be a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that President Trump broke his core promise to have Mexico pay for his wall.

“It is yet another demonstration of President Trump’s naked contempt for the rule of law. This is not an emergency, and the president’s fearmongering doesn’t make it one. He couldn’t convince Mexico, the American people or their elected representatives to pay for his ineffective and expensive wall, so now he’s trying an end-run around Congress in a desperate attempt to put taxpayers on the hook for it. The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities.”

• February 14, 2019: Senator Marco Rubio posted a statement on his official website. The statement was titled: “Rubio Statement on 2019 Omnibus Spending Bill and Potential National Emergency”. From the statement:

“Three weeks ago, Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly to help Florida communities devastated by Michael,” Rubio said. “But now congressional negotiators failed to include disaster funding in this package so they can use it as leverage in an upcoming effort to lift spending caps. I will not support using devastated communities in Florida as pawns for some future legislative deal.”

“We have a crisis at our southern border, but no crisis justifies violating the Constitution,” Rubio continued. “Today’s national emergency is border security. But a future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal. I will wait to see what statutory or constitutional power the President relies on to justify such a declaration before making any definitive statement. But I am skeptical it will be something I can support.”

• February 14, 2019: Representative Jerrold Nadler posted a statement on his official website. The statement was titled: “Chairman Nadler Statement On Trump Preparing to Declare a National Emergency”. From the statement:

“The President’s declaration of a national emergency would be an abuse of his constitutional oath and an affront to the separation of powers. Congress has the exclusive power of the purse, and the Constitution specifically prohibits the President from spending money that has not been appropriated. Congress has just finished a weeks-long budget negotiation. The result agreed to by both parties includes limited funds to construct barriers — but it does not include a medieval border wall. The President has now announced that he will ignore Congress’s express wishes by inventing a so-called ‘emergency.’ This is a gross abuse of power that cannot be tolerated.

“Congress entrusted the president with authority to reallocate funds during unforeseen and urgent situations, such as wars and natural disasters. No sensible person believes there is a emergency at the southern border. Illegal immigration is at record lows, and families with children who lawfully seek asylum are not foreign invaders. Moreover, the law that the President reportedly plans to invoke applies only in situations where the military must be called on for national defense purposes. But the military is prohibited from enforcing the nation’s immigration laws — and the President’s intent to subvert the separation of powers and the rule of law.

“I will fully support the enactment of a joint resolution to terminate the President’s emergency declaration, in accordance with the process described in the National Emergencies Act, and authority to hold the Administration to account and determine the supposed legal basis for the President’s actions.

• February 14, 2019: The House of Representatives voted on the bill titled: “Making further continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes.” The vote was 300 YEAS to 128 NAYS. The bill has passed the House.

213 Democrats voted YEA and 19 Democrats voted NAY.

87 Republicans voted YEA and 109 Democrats voted NAY.

A total of four Representatives did not vote at all: Collin Allred (D-Texas), Ted Deutch (D-Florida), Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), and Michael Quigley (D-Illinois).

Both the House, and the Senate have passed the appropriations bill. It now goes to President Trump who can either sign it, or veto it.

• February 15, 2019: ABC News posted an article titled: “Trump will sign border bill, McConnell says, and declare national emergency”. From the article:

…ABC News has learned that the president plans to announce on Friday his intention to spend about $8 billion on the border wall with a mix of spending from Congressional appropriations approved Thursday night, executive action and an emergency declaration.

A senior White House official familiar with the plan told ABC News that $1.375 billion would come from the spending bill Congress passed Thursday; $600 million would come from the Treasury Department’s drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion would come from the Pentagon’s drug interdiction program; and through an emergency declaration: $3.5 billion from the Pentagon’s military construction budget.

Many Republicans, including McConnell, had advised the president against declaring a national emergency, which is a challenge to Congress; “power of the purse” — the power to decide how and where taxpayer money is spent. However, McConnell, in announcing the president’s decision Thursday afternoon, said he now supported the move…

• February 15, 2019: Representative Ruben Gallego (Democrat-Arizona) tweeted: “As a member of the Armed Services Committee we authorize billions of dollars to improve our bases every year. That money is to build facilities to recruit, train and retain the worlds best military. A fake national emergency takes money from that mission.”
• February 15, 2019: Reuters posted an article titled: “Trump declares emergency for border wall, House panel launches probe.” From the article:

President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in a bid to fund his promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval, an action Democrats vowed to challenge as a violation of the U.S. Constitution…

…Hours after Trump’s announcement, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee said it had launched an investigation into the emergency declaration.

• February 15, 2019: The Hill posted an article titled: “Trump signs border deal, averting shutdown”. From the article:

President Trump on Friday signed a spending package to avert another government shutdown, his top spokeswoman said.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that Trump approved the measure on Friday afternoon in the executive mansion. Reporters were not on hand to witness the bill signing.

The move came hours after Trump announced during a freewheeling, 50-minute news conference that he is declaring a national emergency to bypass Congress and obtain $8 billion for his long-desired border wall, a move that triggered a major legal showdown with Democrats.

Lawmakers authorized $1.375 billion to build 55 miles of new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, far short of the $5.7 billion Trump demanded at the outset of spending talks.

The result marked a significant defeat of Trump, who pledged during the 2016 campaign that he would build a wall across the entire length of the southern border…

President Trump has signed the spending bill. This bill funds the government until sometime in September of 2019. The United States government is not about to go into a (second) shutdown. (But there could potentially be a shutdown in September of 2019.)

• February 15, 2019: Josh Einiger (reporter for ABC NY WABC-TV Eyewitness News at 11) tweeted: “NOW: Protesters block #CentralParkWest in front of @ TrumpHotels NYC. #abc7ny #emergencydeclaration #trump” The tweet includes a photo of protestors gathering outside of Trump Tower. Some are carrying signs.

Will there be Another Partial Government Shutdown? was originally posted on Medium on February 12, 2019. It was periodically updated until the shutdown ended.

Will there be Another Partial Government Shutdown? is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites.