Both Senate Bills to End Shutdown Likely to Fail

Playbook: “On Thursday, the Senate will vote on two different bills: President Trump’s plan, to reopen government alongside a short-term DACA patch and other immigration changes, and a clean funding bill that would reopen government through Feb. 8.”

“Both of these bills are likely to fail. Neither is expected to reach 60 votes. What this does do is it gives senators a chance to vote on government funding — something Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Senate has not done in a few weeks.”

“There will be Republicans who vote for the clean stopgap bill — but, as of now, not enough to reopen the government. Ending this standoff doesn’t appear to be the purpose of this exercise at this point. This is a pressure-valve release, of sorts. This shows the president that neither option is workable, at the moment, and some dynamic has to change if government is going to reopen.”