House Democrats will immediately put their new political power to the test on Thursday by moving to reopen the federal government, setting up a confrontation with President Donald Trump as a partial government shutdown enters its 13th day.
Democratic leaders have scheduled a pair of votes on a package of bills to end the shutdown and give Congress more time to negotiate a deal with the White House over border funding.
The votes will come shortly after Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi returns as House speaker and Democrats reclaim the majority for the first time in eight years.
But even if the bills are approved, as expected, the shutdown will likely go on. The package still must clear the GOP-controlled Senate, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he won’t call for a vote on legislation to end the standoff unless it has Trump’s backing.
Trump already has denounced the Democratic plan because it lacks money for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. And at the White House on Wednesday, he showed no signs of backing down.
Asked how long the shutdown might last, Trump told reporters, “As long as it takes.”
Nine federal departments and several smaller agencies – representing a quarter of the federal government – shut down on Dec. 22 when their funding lapsed and congressional Democrats and the White House failed to strike a deal to keep them open.
