Government shutdown negotiations continue on Capitol Hill
Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-West Virginia, led a meeting of about 16 members of the House and Senate in both parties Monday evening in his office in hopes of finding a way to end the ongoing partial government shutdown, now in its fourth week.
Manchin hatched the idea for the meeting himself over the weekend and began contacting colleagues with whom he's sought to broker bipartisan agreements in the past.
The meeting came as President Trump ruled out declaring a national emergency and using executive powers to divert federal funding to bolster U.S.-Mexico border security, instead urging lawmakers to cut a deal.
But a senior aide familiar with the Manchin meeting tempered expectations for the group and its ability to hatch a deal that could end the impasse.
"Nothing is going to come of it," said the aide, who sought anonymity to speak frankly about ongoing discussions.
The meeting was attended by a group including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), plus at least four members of the House, including Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), who lead a bipartisan "problem solvers" caucus.
Kaine talked with reporters after the meeting about what the bipartisan lawmakers were hoping to accomplish.
"I'm not going to say that it will be different this time. Dialogue guarantees nothing, the absence of dialogue usually guarantees something bad. It was an important discussion, and I think the Democrats tried very hard to impress upon our Republican colleagues, 'You know us ... you can count on us to have a focused discussion about immigration reform and border security after the government reopens,'" he said.
Alan He contributed to this report.
