Lawmakers negotiating a bipartisan border-security plan expect to work into the weekend and are aiming to complete legislation Monday that would avert another government shutdown, according to a Democratic and Republican aide familiar with the talks.
A Republican who’s on the House-Senate panel crafting the deal said he doesn’t see a repeat of the five-week partial government shutdown as a likely prospect and is hopeful a compromise will be reached soon.
Chances of shutdown are “next to nil,” Representative Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee said during an interview Friday on Bloomberg TV. “I think there’s next to no appetite in the room on either side in either body, and that’s a good thing. We didn’t want the government shut down the first time.”
“I think we are going to see a deal made, a deal struck, and the government kept open,” he added.
Fleischmann’s assessment came the day after the top Democrat and Republican on a conference committee negotiating a deal said they’re nearing an accord but the process may go into the weekend. Lawmakers have a week left to pass a spending bill to avert another government shutdown. Current government funding runs out Feb. 15.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby went to the White House Thursday to discuss border security with President Donald Trump. He said he believes a deal can be reached by Monday. House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, said both sides are acting in “good faith.”
The biggest question mark remains Trump, who has continued to demand money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, a proposal rejected by Democrats. If Trump doesn’t agree to a deal reached by bipartisan negotiators, some GOP senators say they are unlikely to go along with it, although Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t ruled out bringing it to a vote.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.