With intensified acrimony between the Democratic Party and President Donald Trump in the last week, hopes of reaching a deal on immigration and government funding have collapsed. Aides are now attempting to find a short-term fix to at least extend funding for a few more weeks.
On Monday, Trump accused the Democrats of damaging military spending prospects and attempting to shut down the government, with the two sides now apparently further apart after a controversy erupted last week over explosive remarks the President allegedly made during a meeting. Discussion of immigration issues has become entangled with government funding, with Democrats insisting on a spending plan, including protections for young immigrants previously helped by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).
If lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives cannot strike a public spending deal by Friday, the US government will have to shut down. This happened in 2013 for 16 days, resulting in federal employees having 6.6 days of unpaid leave between them during that time. On Tuesday, aides said that the most likely scenario was a short-term package to continue current spending levels until around 16 February.
This would still leave many issues unresolved, including the question of a legislative package to assist DACA beneficiaries and funding for the much-discussed US-Mexico border wall. Former Congressional official and budget expert, Stan Collender, says even a short-term fix may not occur, with the Democrats unable to reach a consensus on how to fix the DACA issue.