The Senate will hold competing votes on Thursday on President Trump’s proposal to spend $5.7 billion on a border wall and on a Democratic bill that would fund the government through Feb. 8 without a wall. It will be the first time the Senate has stepped off the sidelines to try to end the monthlong government shutdown.
The procedural move by Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, is the first time the parties have agreed to do virtually anything since the shutdown began Dec. 22. With most Republicans united behind Mr. Trump’s insistence that any legislation to reopen the government include money for a border wall and most Democrats opposed to the linkage, neither measure is expected to draw the 60 votes required to advance.
That means Friday is likely to come and go without action to end the shutdown, forcing 800,000 federal workers to go without a paycheck for the second time this month. But there was hope that the votes could usher in a more cooperative phase in a crisis that has so far been marked almost entirely by partisan posturing; if both measures fall short, the votes could add new energy to efforts to negotiate a bipartisan compromise. With the shutdown now in its fifth week, the pressure is growing on both parties to reopen the government.
“People are saying, isn’t there a way out of this mess? Isn’t there a way to relieve the burden on the 800,000 federal workers not getting paid? Isn’t there a way to get government services open first and then debate what we should do for border security?” Mr. Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor after Mr. McConnell announced the votes. “Well, now there’s a way.”
Still, Mr. Trump remained in a bitter spat with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, over his forthcoming State of the Union address, underlining the partisan divide that has helped to fuel the stalemate. Ms. Pelosi has suggested that the president postpone his prime-time speech to a joint session of Congress scheduled for Jan. 29 in light of the partial shutdown, but Mr. Trump does not appear inclined to do so.
A White House official wrote to security officials on Capitol Hill late Sunday requesting a walk-through on Monday to prepare for the speech, in what two aides described as a bid to pressure Ms. Pelosi to issue Mr. Trump a formal invitation. But Monday was a federal holiday, and the meeting never occurred — and there was no word from the speaker on how she planned to proceed. White House aides, not knowing how the State of the Union dispute will be resolved, have begun to prepare for two different speeches, in case one is not delivered at the Capitol, according to people familiar with the discussions.
One possibility that has been explored is an Oval Office address, although Mr. Trump is aware that the brief one he delivered this month fared poorly in polls and in viewership ratings, making it less palatable to him. Another option, they said, is a rally speech somewhere outside Washington, but aides are concerned that would not be distinct enough from the type of event the president routinely holds.
NEWYORK TIMES
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