69-Hour Government Shutdown is Now Over
PHOTO: WH with police tape.
The government shutdown is now finally over, after 3 days of nonstop arguments, blame games, and no final conclusions. Even after another stopgap bill was passed, the Senate and House as well as Trump's government are facing a dark future ahead of attempts to negotiate between the parties before the next deadline.
February 8th, 2018. Mark it in your calendars; it's when Trump's government will shut down for a second time. That is, of course, unless the two parties can come to agreements during their negotiations in the following two-and-a-half weeks.
For anybody who isn't directly related to politics, sixteen days should be plenty to negotiate a bill in terms of immigration and other major issues. But it really isn't that simple. Democrats, for now, seem dedicated to shutdown Trump's government once again on February 8th unless DACA is passed before, or in, the next funding bill.
Attaching the argument of immigration to a funding bill has never been done, and logical reasons back it up. But this time, Democrats are using their power to shutdown the federal government as a strategy to get DACA passed before the Dreamers begin being sent back, which will obviously increase momentum from supporters.
There's one major question though - what happens if history repeats itself on the night of February 8th? If both sides of the government fail to reach a conclusion before the deadline, inevitably leading to either another continuing resolution or a shutdown? The question is pretty simple - the arguments will follow-up.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, alongside most Republicans including Trump government officials, have made it quite clear that tying up DACA and immigration issues with funding is 'ridiculous' and unfair. They also promised to handle the situation, like many of them wish to, after the government re-opens.
Well, now Senate Democrats have decided to let the GOP continue their governmental works and efforts up until February 8th. If something isn't reached by then, as mentioned so many times in this article, the government will shutdown again.
It's simple - Dems need a deal on Dreamers and DACA that they can guarantee to their voters and supporters. It includes support from at least two Republican Senators, a handful of Republican House Reps, and the President himself, for it to pass.
So far, Trump had made it quite clear he was willing to support a DACA deal and reform if it included border funding, wall funding, and a few other things including the end to the visa lottery program, and a merit-based immigration system. Well, he's already promised then before backing away - and one can only imagine how he'll act when it's time to sign the Democrats' major legislative win for their party.