Trump says Republicans "won" on failed Senate votes
Two bills aiming to reopen the government amid the longest shutdown on record — now in its 34th day — fell short in the Senate on Thursday. A bill crafted after President Trump's proposal to fund the border wall in exchange for temporary protections for Dreamers and foreign disaster victims failed in the Senate Thursday, as did a Democratic bill that would have temporarily funded and reopened the government.
The president's immigration proposal failed 50-47, and Democrats' continuing resolution to fund shuttered agencies failed 52-44. That means the Democratic proposal received more support than Mr. Trump's proposal in a Republican-controlled Senate. Either measure needed 60 votes to pass.
Despite that, Mr. Trump told reporters during a previously unannounced trade bill event Thursday afternoon that Republicans "won" on his proposal, despite it failing 50-47.
"I just really want to thank the Republicans for holding," the president said, adding he was "honored."
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the only Democrat to vote for the president's proposal, while Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Tom Cotton of Arkansas voted against it. The president's proposal offered $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall in exchange for temporary protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients.
A handful of Republicans crossed party lines to vote for the Democratic funding bill — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, and Sen. Johnny Isaakson of Georgia.
It's unclear what Mr. Trump, who says he won't give a State of the Union address until the shutdown ends, will do next. The president has been insisting on funding his border wall before opening up government.
Mr. Trump signaled to reporters that he might support a deal negotiated between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"If they come to a reasonable agreement, I would support it, yes," Mr. Trump said. He added that he has "other alternatives" on the issue of border wall funding.
After the votes, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders made it clear the president won't sign any bill that doesn't have a "down payment" on the wall.
"Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Chuck Schumer are meeting now to see whether or not they can work out of the deadlock. As was made clear to Sen. Lindsay Graham, the three-week CR would only work if there is a large down payment on the wall," Sanders said.
However, Pelosi said "I don't know what he's talking about" regarding the "down payment" idea.
Roughly 800,000 federal workers are going unpaid during the longest shutdown on record. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross sparked backlash when he told CBNC on Thursday morning he doesn't understand why federal workers would need to visit food banks, as they could just take out loans instead.
"Well, I know they are and I don't really quite understand why," Ross told CNBC, on federal workers at food banks. "Because, as I mentioned before, the obligations that they would undertake, say borrowing from a bank or a credit union are in effect federally guaranteed. So the 30 days of pay that some people will be out, there's no real reason why they shouldn't be able to get a loan against it and we've seen a number of ads from financial institutions doing that."
Mr. Trump said that he had not heard the statement, but that he believed Ross was trying to say that businesses will assist those affected by the shutdown.
"I haven't heard the statement but I do understand that perhaps he should have said it differently. Local people know who they are. When they go for groceries and everything else. I think what Wilbur was probably trying to say is that they will work along," he said.