Partial Shutdown Likely To Continue Into 2019

It is now a near certainty that the partial government shutdown will enter a second week, and very likely drag into the new year. Congressional Democrats and the White House remain at loggerheads over President Donald Trump's insistence on funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D., N.Y., rejected the latest White House offer, saying the two sides remained far apart. Spending bills require 60 votes to clear procedural hurdles in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority, giving Democrats leverage in the talks. Rep. Steve Scalise, R., La., the majority whip, told House members on Wednesday that no votes were expected for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, on Thursday the Senate adjourned until next week. "We have not been able to reach agreement, with regards to the leadership on both sides," Sen. Pat Roberts, R., Kan., told reporters Thursday following a short Senate session. "In Dodge City, Kansas, they say a horse divided against itself cannot stand. That's about where we are." If the shutdown lasts until the new Congress begins on January 3, Nancy Pelosi, D., Calif., the Democratic leader who is likely to regain the speakership, is expected to move quickly to pass a spending bill extending to February 8 with no border wall funding and send it to the Senate. If the likely Pelosi measure clears that hurdle, it would still need to be signed by the president to end the impasse. "She could pass a very liberal spending bill with Democrat-only votes and probably find enough Republicans to go along in the Senate but it will be met with a less than enthusiastic response in the White House," Rep. Mark Meadows, R., N.C., said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.