Lawmakers and the White House made no progress yesterday toward a deal to end the partial federal government shutdown, likely leaving the border-wall funding fight as the first order of business for the new Congress next year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Senate convened briefly yesterday before adjourning until Monday, Dec. 31, the latest sign that lawmakers don’t expect to reach an agreement to end the shutdown this year. The Senate session on Monday is likely to be perfunctory and brief, absent any developments. Currently in its sixth day, the third partial government shutdown of the year began on Saturday after President Trump and House Republicans upended a bipartisan Senate agreement to fund the government through Feb. 8, with Trump insisting on securing $5 billion for the wall. The shutdown has affected nine of 15 federal agencies, forcing about 380,000 employees to take unpaid leave, also known as furlough, while other workers, deemed essential employees, are set to work without pay. Neither the House nor the Senate are scheduled to hold any votes before Monday at the earliest, and lawmakers and congressional aides from both parties were pessimistic any agreement to reopen the government would be struck before Democrats take control of the House on Thursday, Jan. 3.
