Stopgap Bill to End Government Shutdown Passes Congress<br />His promises are empty from the start.”<br />On Monday morning, a telephone call to the White House comment line reminded callers<br />that the federal government was shutdown and offered the Trump administration’s explanation for why: “Unfortunately, we cannot answer your call today because congressional Democrats are holding government funding for our troops and other national security priorities hostage to an unrelated immigration debate,” a recording said.<br />Mr. McConnell said on Monday morning that the Senate would move ahead with a scheduled procedural vote at noon on a proposal to fund the government through Feb. 8,<br />and he urged his colleagues to put an end to the shutdown.<br />The Senate voted 81-18 on Monday to end the three-day-old government shutdown, with Democrats joining Republicans to fund the government through<br />February 8 in exchange for a promise from Republican leaders to address the fate of young, undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers.<br />“ ‘I intend.’ I would much rather he say, ‘I commit’ or ‘I will move.’”<br />As senators from the group shuffled in and out of leadership offices, Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona and another member of the group, expressed optimism<br />that such a public statement by Mr. McConnell would be enough to win over enough Democrats to vote to end the shutdown.<br />On Monday, Mr. McConnell pledged that the Senate’s immigration debate would have “a level<br />playing field at the outset and an amendment process that is fair to all sides.”<br />“The very first step is ending the government shutdown,” he said.
