US govt shutdown enters third day as Senate fails to clinch the deal

A US government shutdown enterered its third day on Monday as Senate negotiators failed to reach agreement late on Sunday to restore federal spending authority and deal with demands from Democrats that young “Dreamers” be protected from deportation.
 
The Senate set a vote for 12 pm (1700 GMT) on Monday on advancing a measure to provide temporary government funding through February 8, end the shutdown and allow hundreds of thousands of federal employees to return to work.
 
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered an olive branch to Democrats late on Sunday, pledging on the Senate floor to bring immigration legislation up for debate in February if the issue is still unresolved by then. At the core of Democrats’ demands is the fate of young people, known as Dreamers, who were brought to the country illegally as children. Former Democratic President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program extended legal protections to about 700,000 of them, shielding them from being deported.

 

“It would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues,” McConnell said, adding: “It is also my intention take up legislation on increased defense spending, disaster relief and other important matters” then. It was unclear whether there would be enough Democratic votes on Monday to advance a temporary spending bill.
 
Funding for federal agencies ran out at midnight on Friday amid an impasse between President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans and Democrats over DACA and other immigration issues. Democrats want Trump, who last year ordered an end to DACA in March, to live up to an earlier agreement to protect the Dreamers.