On Sunday, Congress was under pressure by President Donald Trump to end the government shutdown, which was entering its second day, as uncertainty reigned over whether the Republican and Democratic parties would be able to break the impasse over the restoration of federal funding anytime soon.
Trump wrote on Twitter that a continuation of the current stalemate could result in Republicans using the ‘Nuclear Option’ to have the Senate rules changed to use a simple majority to pass a new long-term spending bill. With the working week less than a day away, lawmakers faced another tense 24 hours as Trump continued to slam the Democrats, accusing them of being in favor of unchecked illegal immigration into the US.
Trump has before suggested changing the Senate rule that requires 60 votes for the majority of legislation to be passed, but the idea has been opposed by Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. He has promised to introduce a new spending plan by Monday morning at the latest to try to keep the government operational again until at least 8 February.
Such a proposal would not include a solution for the undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers whose fate is still up in the air after the decision to end the deferred action program, and may not be able to pass without it. On Sunday morning news shows, Republicans and Democrats were pointing the finger of blame at each other for the shutdown.