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Government to shut down for third time this year

Posted at 5:27 PM, Dec 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-21 20:43:14-05

While negotiations continue in Congress to reach a deal to avert a partial government shutdown, there is virtually no chance a vote will happen Friday night -- all but assuring there will be a government shutdown at midnight.

The House has adjourned, and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn says there will be no vote Friday night in the Senate.

Barring any very unexpected change, the third government shutdown of the year will happen.

Vice President Mike Pence, budget director Mick Mulvaney and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were on Capitol Hill on Friday afternoon meeting with senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, about finding a solution.

The President has repeatedly said he is unwilling to accept anything less than $5 billion for his long-promised border wall. But the fact that the $5 billion border wall is viewed as a measure that would be impossible to pass in the Senate indicates that votes aren't there on the Hill to meet the President's demand.

Funding for roughly a quarter of the federal government expires at midnight, including appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other parts of the government.