In a speech on the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that he and Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reached a deal to re-open the government until Feb. 8. The Senate vote to invoke cloture on the motion, ending a possible filibuster.
Senate votes 81-18 to end filibuster on Government funding bill. Far exceeded the 60 votes required. Senate now votes on the bill to fund the Government through February 8. Then it goes to the House for final passage.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) January 22, 2018
Schumer said that he was given assurances that Senate Republicans would negotiate in good faith on a fix for the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which expires in March.
Schumer says that he received a promise from McConnell that if a deal isn’t reached by Feb. 8, the Senate will hold a vote on DACA legislation.
“We will vote today to reopen the government to continue negotiating a global agreement with the commitment that if an agreement isn’t reached by February 8, the Senate will immediately proceed to consideration of legislation dealing with DACA,” said Schumer. “The process will be neutral and fair to all sides.”
In his speech, Schumer called President Donald Trump “obstinate,” and said this deal was made in spite of the “glaring absence of the president.
“The Republican majority now has 17 days to prevent the Dreamers from being deported,” Schumer said.
In his speech, McConnell said the strategy to shut down the government over illegal immigration was something the American people didn’t “understand” and said he was “glad to get back to work.”
In a speech after McConnell, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called the team that ended the shutdown the largest bipartisan group to ever address immigration.
“For the first time in five years, we will have debate on the floor of the Senate on the DREAM Act,” Durbin said.
Update 5:15pm CT, Jan. 22: Both the House and Senate passed legislation to re-open the government, where it now heads to President Trump.
The deal passed the House 266-150 and 81-18. It funds the government until Feb. 8.
