WASHINGTON (AP) Thirty-one days into the partial government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans appeared no closer to ending the impasse than when it began, with President Donald Trump lashing out at his opponents after they dismissed a plan hed billed as a compromise.
Trump on Sunday branded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a radical and said she was acting irrationally. The president also tried to fend off criticism from the right, as conservatives accused him of embracing amnesty for immigrants in the country illegally.
Trump offered on Saturday to temporarily extend protections for young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones in exchange for $5.7 billion for his border wall. But Democrats said the three-year proposal didnt go nearly far enough.
No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer, Trump tweeted Sunday, noting that hed offered temporary, three-year extensions not permanent relief. But he added: Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else.
The criticism from both sides underscored Trumps boxed in-position as he tries to win at least some Democratic buy-in without alienating his base.
With hundreds of thousands of federal workers set to face another federal pay period without paychecks, the issue passed to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to bring Trumps proposal to the floor this week.
Democrats say theres little chance the measure will reach the 60-vote threshold usually required to advance legislation in the Senate. Republicans have a 53-47 majority, which means they need at least some Democrats to vote in favor.
McConnell has long tried to avoid votes on legislation that is unlikely to become law. And the Kentucky Republican has said for weeks that he has no interest in show votes aimed only at forcing members to take sides after Trump rejected the Senates earlier bipartisan bill to avert the shutdown.
Whats unclear is how McConnell will bring Trumps plan forward or when voting will begin. The Republican leader is a well-known architect of complicated legislative maneuvers. One question is whether he would allow a broader immigration debate with amendments to Trumps plan on the Senate floor.
McConnell spokesman David Popp said Sunday, When we have (a plan) we will be sure to let everyone know.
One key Republican, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, said that he and other lawmakers had been encouraging the White House to put an offer on the table any offer to get both sides talking.
Get something out there the president can say, I can support this, and it has elements from both sides, put it on the table, then open it up for debate, Lankford said on ABCs This Week.
The vote this week in the Senate is not to pass the bill, it is to open up and say Can we debate this? Can we amend it? Can we make changes? Lankford said. Lets find a way to be able to get the government open because there are elements in this that are clearly elements that have been supported by Democrats strongly in the past.
Democrats continue to say that they will not negotiate with Trump until he ends the shutdown, the longest in American history.
The starting point of this negotiation ought to be reopening the government, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told NBC. We cannot reward the kind of behavior of hostage taking. Because if the president can arbitrarily shut down the government now, he will do it time and again.
