An all-too-familiar drama is playing out on Capitol Hill to avert a shutdown of the US Government with Democrats insisting on immediate legislative protection from deportation for 8,00,000 young illegal immigrants in return for their support to a must-pass spending bill to keep the government operational.
With deep divisions on the immigration package, given President Donald Trump’s insistence that funding for his pet border wall project should form part of the legislation to protect “Dreamers”, the Republican leadership in Congress is at its wits’ end on how to strike a balance and get the requisite support, particularly in the Senate.
In a bid to gain time for further negotiations on immigration and long-term spending, and stave off the looming shutdown in the face of the Friday midnight deadline, the Republican leaders have come up with a limited one-month spending bill in the form of another ‘CR’ (continuing resolution) that is set to be voted upon later on Thursday.
While this measure may clear the House of Representatives, where the Republicans have a relatively comfortable majority, it cannot pass muster in the Senate without support from at least a section of Democrats. In the 100-member Senate, the Republicans have just 51 members, while major Bills of the kind require to be passed by 60 votes.
The last government showdown happened over ‘Obamacare’ in 2013 and it lasted 16 days, during which federal departments, barring essential services, ceased operation and hundreds of thousands of employees were furloughed.
In the House itself, the stopgap spending bill can face problems if the Republican formation’s far-right Freedom Caucus, consisting of about 30 hardcore conservatives, refuses to go along.
This ginger group is demanding that the leadership commit itself to putting an essentially conservative
immigration bill on the floor that also boosts defence
spending.
The White House is supporting the continuing resolution mechanism to avoid the government shutdown and use the time for further negotiations. President Donald Trump has warned that a shutdown would be “devastating”.
“We have a good chance of passing it (the one-month spending bill),” House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday, adding: “Good-faith negotiations are underway.”
But in the Senate, Majority leader Mitch McConnell is up against an almost impossible task. Besides ensuring all the 51 Republican votes, he will have to work on to secure at least 9 Democratic votes.
At least, one Republican Senator, lindsey Graham, announced he will not vote for the spending bill in protest against President Trump’s rejection of a bipartisan immigration package.
In a bid to attract at least some Democrats to back the measure, the Republican leaders have attached a six-year extension of the popular Children’s Health Insurance Programme, besides delaying two unpopular health-care taxes. But most Democrats have indicated that nothing short of a clean DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) Bill will satisfy them.