Both shutdown-ending bills resoundingly fail in the Senate
Two Senate bills to end the longest government shutdown in history failed Thursday, as expected. The competing bills needed 60 votes to pass — an impossible task with senators largely voting along party lines.
President Trump's plan to reopen the government with $5.7 billion in border wall funding was on the table first, offering up some protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients but limiting asylum protections. It was resoundingly voted down, with 50 votes for and 47 votes against. All Democrats voted against it save for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), a centrist who indicated earlier in the day he'd side with Trump. Two Republicans, Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.) and Mike Lee (Utah), voted "no" to join the Democrats.
The Democratic bill, which provides just two weeks of government funding, also failed in the GOP-controlled Senate, with 52 voting for and 44 against. Six Republicans sided with Democrats, but it needed 13 GOP votes to pass. It was aimed at re-opening the government for just enough time to allow further border talks, and included no funding for the border wall. The Democratic-controlled House had already passed a nearly identical bill, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) added some disaster aid to this version.
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Both bills, had they passed, would've headed to the House for another vote before arriving at the president's desk.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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