| (CBS News)
The government shutdown remains in effect Monday, after senators failed to come to an agreement to end it late Sunday night. A vote is scheduled for noon Monday that would end the shutdown with a short-term spending bill that would last three weeks. Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell attempted to schedule a vote Sunday night that would end the shutdown, but Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer objected.
McConnell promised that if by Feb. 8, there is no agreement on immigration, the Senate, assuming that the government remains open, would address DACA and border security, as well as increased defense spending. “Let’s step back from the brink” and stop victimizing the American people and get back to work, McConnell argued.
Schumer told McConnell he was “happy to continue the conversation,” but said that Democrats and the GOP had “yet to reach an agreement on a path forward.”
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn remained optimistic that the shutdown could be ended with the Monday vote, and he explained to reporters what he thought was behind Schumer’s objection.
“I think the minority leader wants to just give everybody a chance to chew on it and understand it, so that’s why he didn’t want to have the vote tonight,” Cornyn said Sunday night. “And on balance it’s better to have a successful vote tomorrow at noon than a failed vote tonight.”
|