There might be one bloc conspicuously absent from Washington, D.C., this week amid the possibility of a shutdown: retired House Republicans.
Government funding expires at midnight Friday, and despite President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to pass $5 billion for border wall funding, Republicans in either chamber might not be able to pass a spending bill that includes a provision funding the wall.
“Many lawmakers, relegated to cubicles as incoming members take their offices, have been skipping votes in the weeks since House Republicans were swept from power in the midterm elections, and Republican leaders are unsure whether they will ever return,” The New York Times reported Sunday.
“In recent weeks, anywhere from a handful to more than two dozen Republicans have failed to cast votes on individual bills, leaving leaders uncertain of their numbers,” the Times added.
The Senate returned Monday and the House resumes business Wednesday night.
Trump has said he is not in favor of short-term funding legislation to keep the government open for a week or two, with White House senior adviser Stephen Miller saying Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that “We’re going to do whatever is necessary to build the border wall to stop this ongoing crisis of illegal immigration.”
Trump met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., last week, which ended in Trump telling Schumer that he would be “proud to shut down the government” if he doesn’t get the funds he has requested for border security.
Read the full story from The Daily Signal
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