Waving off a push by Democrats to force action this week on a compromise over the future of illegal immigrant "Dreamers," Republicans in Congress said they wanted to wait for further negotiations on DACA, as House GOP leaders unveiled a short term funding plan that would keep the federal government running into mid-February, but that measure faced resistance from some more conservative Republicans.
"There is no reason why Congress should hold government funding hostage over the issues of illegal immigration," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said a resolution on DACA could wait until February or March.
But even without DACA in the mix, a new temporary funding plan unveiled by House Republican leaders last night got a tepid embrace from GOP lawmakers, frustrated by the lack of an overall budget agreement for 2018.
The biggest red flag came from more conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus, who argue the GOP should forge ahead with a plan to fully fund the military for 2018, while leaving all other government operations on a stop gap budget.
After a meeting Tuesday night, Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) made it clear that the group was not ready to endorse the GOP funding plan, which would keep the government running through February 19.
The goal is to use that extra time to reach a broader budget deal with Democrats, allowing the Congress to then approve a larger "Omnibus" funding plan for the 2018 budget year - which began back on October 1, 2017.
It was a replay of a familiar scenario on Capitol Hill, where House Republican infighting might lead to a shutdown at the end of the week.
"It's a possibility, yes," said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), when asked about the chances of a shutdown.
"But I don't think it's really going to happen," Inhofe told reporters. "Nobody really wants it on either side."
The new GOP stopgap budget unveiled on Tuesday evening included a few sweeteners, as leaders added to the funding plan a provision that reauthorizes the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2023.
"Without immediate action to fund CHIP, millions of low-income children will receive notices in the coming weeks that they might lose their health coverage," said Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) and Rep. Mike Burgess (R-TX) in a statement.
While the CHIP extension had been expected, the GOP stopgap budget included something else that was a big surprise - as the bill would suspend three different taxes from the Obama health law.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
While Republicans try to find the votes to support that plan, a bipartisan group of Senators will unveil the final details of their DACA compromise on Wednesday, in hopes of stirring more support.
"I don't know how this movie ends," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who very publicly said he thought the President had signed on to the compromise DACA plan last Thursday, but then had his mind changed by immigration hard liners in the White House, and the Senate.
One of those opponents is Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who bluntly told the DACA group of six Senators not to even try to push ahead with their plan.
"Might as well roll it straight into the trash can," Cotton said of the DACA deal, which he has labeled a mass amnesty.
Meanwhile, Democrats were hoping for a budget impasse, as they argue that a resolution on DACA could still be added into the mix this week.
Many Republicans say they also want action on DACA, but they understand in the current environment, after the blow up over what the President said - or did not say - last week, that no agreement can happen right now.
"Unfortunately, about every time we get close to putting our toes in the water, something happens," said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA).
The tentative plan is for the House to try to vote on a stop gap budget on Thursday. The Senate could then pass the same measure before a Friday night shutdown deadline.
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