By Steve Holland, Gram Slattery and Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration planned to produce a list on Friday of “Democrat programs” that will be closed as a result of the ongoing federal government shutdown. He did not specify the programs but indicated to reporters at the White House on […]
Politics
Trump says he will unveil list on Friday of ‘Democrat programs’ to be shut
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By Steve Holland, Gram Slattery and Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration planned to produce a list on Friday of “Democrat programs” that will be closed as a result of the ongoing federal government shutdown.
He did not specify the programs but indicated to reporters at the White House on Tuesday that the closures would be permanent.
Meanwhile, the Senate failed in its eighth attempt to pass legislation approved last month by the House of Representatives that would end the shutdown by providing government funding through November 21.
The Senate voted 49-45 to advance the bill, short of the 60 yes votes needed in the 100-member Senate controlled by Republicans.
The government shutdown entered its third week with Republican and Democratic lawmakers continuing to blame each other for the impasse.
“Only Democrats have made demands, and by the way, very expensive demands” in return for voting to reopen the government, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said in a speech to the Senate on Tuesday.
Senate Democrats are pushing to use their legislative leverage of withholding necessary votes for a stopgap funding bill to advocate for healthcare fixes.
Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who represents many furloughed federal workers and military personnel, told NPR’s Morning Edition on Tuesday it will take Trump engaging with Democrats to end the shutdown.
“If the president engages, we can solve this in 48 hours,” Kaine said.
Some federal workers and military personnel are facing the prospect of missing a paycheck for lack of funds. However, the Trump administration has said that it will redirect some money to avoid any interruptions of troops’ pay.
Thune did not allow a vote this time on a Democratic alternative, which would reopen the government with temporary funding but also include money to permanently extend a federal healthcare tax credit, which Republicans are opposing.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Bo Erickson; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Richard Chang)