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Dec. 22, 2018 / 5:58 PM GMT
By Rebecca Shabad, Garrett Haake, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Hallie Jackson
WASHINGTON — The House and Senate gaveled in at noon Saturday with the federal government partially shut down amid the ongoing impasse over President Donald Trump’s request for $5 billion in border wall funding.
Despite the session, there did not appear to be much action that could lead to a Saturday resolution, with negotiations at the staff level in their earliest stages.
The ball was in the Senate’s court, where a procedural vote on Friday set up the possibility for quick action if a deal does develop.
A Senate Democratic aide said the House and Senate leadership of both parties — as well as the president himself — would all need to sign off on any deal before it went up for a vote. Lawmakers in the Senate, who have been told that they will be notified 24 hours in advance of a vote, had received no such notice.
House members, meanwhile, were told to be “on call” and were also told that leaders would do their best to give 24 hours notice if they need to return to Washington.
President Donald Trump, who put a scheduled holiday trip to Mar-a-Lago on hold Friday, tweeted Saturday morning that he was “in the White House, working hard.”
“We are negotiating with the Democrats on desperately needed Border Security (Gangs, Drugs, Human Trafficking & more) but it could be a long stay,” he said.
It was unclear exactly how long the shutdown would last: hours, days, or even longer — into early January, when Democrats will retake the House majority.
This marks the third shutdown of the year and of the Trump administration. The first, in January, lasted 69 hours. The second, which occurred in February, lasted 9 hours.
Under the current partial shutdown, more than 420,000 federal employees will be required to work without pay and an additional 380,000 will be sent home, according to a fact sheet compiled by Senate Democrats. TSA employees, Correctional officers, FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, Border Patrol officers, Coast Guard employees, Forest Service firefighters and Weather Service forecasters are all expected to continue working without pay.
