On Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent his GOP members an email imploring them to stick together and assign blame to Democrats should funding lapse at midnight Friday. | Alex Wong/Getty Images McConnell plans for shutdown The Senate leader intends to keep his chamber in session and stage a series of votes designed to embarrass vulnerable Democrats. 
 
 Mitch McConnell is making contingency plans for the growing possibility of a government shutdown. 
 
 The Senate majority leader intends to keep the chamber in session through the weekend and stage a series of votes designed to put Democrats from conservative states on defense, according to two Republican sources familiar with his plans and an email sent by McConnell on Thursday and obtained by POLITICO. 
 
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 The goal would be to place the blame for a shutdown squarely on 10 Democratic senators up for reelection this fall in states won by Donald Trump in 2016, and make them the face of a government closure. 
 
 The strategy is risky for Republicans, considering that they control the White House and Congress. Should funding lapse at midnight Friday, McConnell would keep the Senate in session and try to force Democrats to repeatedly vote against funding for children’s health care money and government spending. 
 
 On Thursday morning, McConnell sent his GOP members an email imploring them to stick together and assign blame to Democrats. Several Republicans, including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Rounds of South Dakota have said they will oppose a House spending bill that could be voted on Thursday night. 
 
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 “We should all plan to stay through this weekend if Senate Democrats follow through and are willing to shut down the government and the Children’s Health Insurance Program because they have yet to conclude a deal on DACA. This is an irresponsible position to take as everything from pay for our military to processing social security checks will be affected. I hope not a single Republican is inclined to join them,” McConnell said in the email. 
 
 Liberal Democrats scoffed at the Republican strategy to blame their more moderate colleagues. 
 
 “Only In Washington when the Republicans control the House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the White House would they seek to blame Democrats,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). “You should be concerned less about the politics and more about getting the job done.” 
 
 Only West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has said he will support the House’s short-term funding bill. The other Trump-state Democrats are not saying how they would vote. They're under pressure from liberal activists demanding that they vote against any bill that does not include protections for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants facing potential deportation. 
 
 Republicans have 51 votes in the Senate and are hoping to expand their majority this fall, when a host of moderate Democrats are up for reelection. 
 
 Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) signaled on Tuesday that he could vote no, blasting the House’s short-term bill as “a bad proposal,” while Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) also indicated she is undecided. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said he would not draw a “line in the sand” on funding. 
 
 “They will own this shutdown and we will take these votes over and over so they are on record. General polls [about] how [Republicans] suck do not matter. We are looking at the Trump states where we need pick up seats. And we will go after them aggressively,” said a senior Republican aide working on party strategy. 
 
 McConnell is likely to repeatedly call up the funding bill and make Democrats vote it down, provided the House passes its bill on Thursday. A spokeswoman for McConnell confirmed the Senate will stay in session in the event of the shutdown. 
 
 “If the Democrats choose to shut down the government, if that hypothetical situation happens, then yes of course the Senate will remain in session,” said Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for McConnell. 
 
 A national Republican strategist said the GOP’s campaign arm is likely to use Democrats’ words opposing the 2013 shutdown against them. The aim will be to damage incumbent Democrats caught between voters in conservative states and liberal activists pushing those senators to block the funding bill. Campaign officials are planning to hammer Democrats for voting against a bill with funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. 
 
 “You will also see something similar to the messaging [Democrats] used in 2013 on funding for troops, seniors and again children,” the strategist said. 
 
 Senate Democrats are laying their own plans to blame Trump and GOP leaders for a potential impasse, including an aggressive media campaign slamming Republicans. 
 
 “Senate Republicans have a herculean task ahead of them to blame anyone but the president for this shutdown,” said Matt House, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The American people will know exactly where to place the blame for the first-ever shutdown under total Republican control in Washington.” 
 
 Elana Schor contributed to this report. ||||| Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walk to the Senate floor Wednesday. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Congressional leaders reach budget deal The agreement would raise stiff spending caps and help stave off a shutdown. 
 
 Congressional leaders on Wednesday clinched a two-year deal to lift strict budget caps on defense and domestic spending, likely putting an end to a series of short-term spending bills and shutdown fights that have defined Washington the past few months. 
 
 The deal is expected to increase defense and domestic spending by roughly $300 billion over two years, according to administration and congressional sources, as well as lift the debt ceiling through the election and include tens of billions of dollars in disaster aid. 
 
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 "This bill is the product of extensive negotiations among congressional leaders and the White House. No one thinks this bill is perfect. But we worked hard to find common ground and stay focused on serving the American people," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in announcing the agreement. 
 
 "The budget deal doesn’t have everything Democrats want. It doesn’t have everything the Republicans want. But it has a great deal of what the American people want," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "After months of legislative logjams, this budget deal is a genuine breakthrough." 
 
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 The Senate is expected vote on the pact on Thursday, according to Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). It's likely to pass easily, but House approval will be a tougher lift. 
 
 And though President Donald Trump suggested that the government could shut down without action on immigration, a top White House aide signaled that Trump supports the bill. 
 
 “I’m not going to say every piece of it. But obviously, we’re excited about the defense numbers," said Marc Short, the White House legislative director. 
 
 Trump tweeted in support of the deal a few hours later. 
 
 "The Budget Agreement today is so important for our great Military," he wrote. "It ends the dangerous sequester and gives Secretary Mattis what he needs to keep America Great. Republicans and Democrats must support our troops and support this Bill!" 
 
 The agreement would increase defense spending this year by $80 billion and domestic spending by $63 billion beyond strict budget caps, according to a summary of the deal obtained by POLITICO. Next year, defense spending would increase by $85 billion and domestic funding by $68 billion beyond the caps. The deal also includes $140 billion for defense and $20 billion for domestic in emergency spending over two years. 
 
 A plan to lift the debt limit, which requires action in the coming weeks, and whether to extend expiring tax provisions were among the few outstanding issues that could be attached to the deal, according to aides in both parties familiar with the talks. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said the debt ceiling is likely to be suspended through next March in tandem with the budget deal. Cornyn said nearly $90 billion of disaster aid for wildfires and hurricane damage will also be included. 
 
 For such a large package to be passed before funding expires, all 100 senators will need to agree to speedy action on the spending bill and budget package. Any one senator can object to moving forward and derail the leaders’ plan, though McConnell said it is unlikely that the budget deal would fall apart at this late stage. 
 
 Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes the deal, said he hasn't decided whether he would deny a swift vote — and potentially cause a government shutdown. 
 
 McConnell briefed the Senate GOP on the contours of the deal at a party lunch Wednesday, and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also read in his members across the Capitol. Both GOP leaders faced pushback, but allies exuded confidence the budget deal will be on Trump's desk by Thursday evening. 
 
 "The House, and Republicans in the Senate and some Democrats in the Senate, are totally committed to increasing defense. And you weren't going to increase defense successfully without a big increase in nondefense," Blunt said. 
 
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 "I've got mixed feelings," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). “This has been a hard-fought negotiation. I think our leadership really worked hard. It’s obviously not our leadership’s first preference, but we had to work it out with the other side." 
 
 Support from GOP defense hawks, especially in the House, will be critical in passing the bill. Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) — at home in Arizona while being treated for brain cancer — and House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) came out strongly in support of the package. 
 
 "This budget agreement is indispensable for our national security," the two Republicans said in a joint statement. "Without it, our military would not be able to defend our nation, as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and our military leaders have repeatedly warned." 
 
 However, the negotiations hit a major snag on Wednesday: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she cannot support any budget agreement without a commitment from Ryan to vote on an immigration bill to protect immigrants covered under the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program. 
 
 Still, McConnell and Schumer are bullish about success. The two Senate leaders, along with Ryan and Pelosi, have been engaged in high-level spending talks for weeks. 
 
 If all goes according to plan, the Senate will amend a short-term spending bill passed by the House to include the deal to lift strict budget caps and send the package back for the House’s approval before a Thursday night deadline to fund the government. House Democrats moved their annual retreat from Maryland’s Eastern Shore to the U.S. Capitol in anticipation of having to vote on the Senate plan. 
 
 Hard-line GOP conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus oppose the deal, which means Ryan will need some votes from Pelosi. But many Republicans are expected to back it. 
 
 "There’s substantial support within our caucus. So I don’t think we’ll need that many Democrat votes," said Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.). 
 
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 Pelosi is facing pressure from some of rank-and-file members — as well as from progressive groups — to reject a budget caps agreement unless Trump and the Republicans agree to a legislative fix for Dreamers. After surveying her caucus, she implored Ryan on the House floor to "Let Congress work its will. What are you afraid of?" 
 
 "Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support," Pelosi said. McConnell promised to hold a floor debate on various Dreamers proposals later this month as long as the government remains open. 
 
 Ryan has said he would bring up a Dreamers deal if Trump signs off on it. 
 
 "We've been very clear about this," Ryan said at a news conference earlier this week. "We will take a bill that the president supports." 
 
 Republicans said privately they were not going to overreact to Pelosi's comments, even as she held the House floor for hours demanding action for Dreamers. Pelosi and her aides have been part of the budget caps negotiations from the start, and no deal will occur unless all four party leaders on the Hill support any agreement and work to pass it. 
 
 On Tuesday, Schumer said he and Pelosi are aligned strategically on moving forward, potentially defusing another government shutdown. 
 
 And many Democrats and Republicans will find relief in a break from budget brinkmanship and in boosting domestic programs and defense spending. The House passed a bill Tuesday funding the government until March 23, which would allow Congress to write a new spending bill for the rest of the year at levels set by the emerging budget deal, potentially avoiding more shutdown fights in an election year. 
 
 Though Democrats were unable to secure complete parity in domestic spending alongside the big boost in military dollars, they were quick to note the agreement includes $20 billion for infrastructure, $5.8 billion for child care and $6 billion to fight opioid addiction. The bill also includes a two-year extension of expired Community Health Centers funding and a 10-year extension of Children's Health Insurance Plan funding. 
 
 Separately, Schumer and McConnell have been discussing how the Senate will handle a debate on immigration to protect immigrants under DACA from deportation. While House Democrats had been pushing Senate Democrats to clinch a DACA deal in tandem with the budget, there is little hope of a deal on immigration this week. 
 
 All McConnell would promise is a wide-ranging floor debate to begin next week. 
 
 Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report. ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 WASHINGTON — With the government reopened and a debt default averted for now, Congressional negotiators on Thursday plunged into difficult budget talks to avoid a repeat crisis within months, and quickly agreed to lower their sights from the sort of grand bargain that has eluded the two parties for three years. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 After approval late Wednesday of the agreement ending the standoff, the deal-making mantle shifted overnight from the leaders of the Senate to the Budget Committee leaders, Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, two less senior lawmakers who nonetheless could make very effective salespeople since they command loyal followings in their parties. The political pressure lifted as well, for now. 
 
 But the need for a bipartisan breakthrough, even a modest one, was amplified by the economic costs wrought by the 16-day shutdown and near-default on government obligations. 
 
 “The key now is a budget that cuts out the things that we don’t need, closes corporate tax loopholes that don’t help create jobs, and frees up resources for the things that do help us grow — like education and infrastructure and research,” President Obama said Thursday from the White House, setting ambitious goals for Congress even as his own role in the bargaining was unclear. 
 
 The question of what a new House-Senate budget conference can deliver by its Dec. 13 deadline — in time for Congress to act by Jan. 15 on funding to keep the government open — remained the subject of deep skepticism, well earned by past failures at reaching so-called grand bargains for deficit reduction and spending investments in the past three years. 
 
 With the scope of the talks narrowed for now, on the table are ideas left over from past, failed bargaining: possible reductions in other programs — like farm subsidies, federal pensions, the Postal Service and unemployment insurance — and relatively minimal tax loophole closings, possibly as little as $55 billion. 
 
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 While there is nonetheless hope on both sides for a defining budget deal, the three-week budget crisis scrambled Washington’s power structure. 
 
 Democrats, united throughout, believe they enter this next round far stronger, backed by a president who proved his own resolve. Republicans, having played their trump card by shutting down the government, are weakened and more divided than ever. 
 
 Reflecting his party’s chastened state heading into the next phase, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, told the conservative National Review on Thursday, “A government shutdown is off the table.” 
 
 Even so, Republicans enter these new talks with one advantage: if the negotiations fail, the next round of across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration will hit automatically, even deeper than the first. Democrats want to avoid that far more than Republicans do. 
 
 Both Mr. Ryan and Ms. Murray struck positive notes. 
 
 “Our goal is to do good for the American people, to get our debt under control, to do smart deficit reduction, and to do things we think can grow the economy and get people back to work,” Mr. Ryan said. 
 
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 Ms. Murray said, “We believe there is common ground.” 
 
 By definition, common ground suggests no grand bargain, which would require a much more difficult trade-off where they fundamentally differ — higher tax revenues that Republicans oppose, in exchange for reductions in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that Democrats vow they will not entertain without curbs on tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations. 
 
 With the last-minute settlement, Washington found itself battered, exhausted and about where it was back in March in terms of budget progress. That month, Congressional Republicans and the White House failed to prevent the sequestration cuts from taking effect across military and domestic programs. 
 
 The Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate passed vastly different budgets, but Republicans blocked Democrats’ repeated efforts to convene a conference committee to reconcile the differences — until this week. 
 
 Congress not only reopened the government through Jan. 15 and raised the nation’s borrowing limit effective to Feb. 7 on Wednesday. It also mandated the formal budget negotiations in a separate parliamentary motion. 
 
 “Nobody can guarantee success, but what we can say is that if we don’t make the effort and get together and talk, that would guarantee failure,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, House Democrats’ chief negotiator. 
 
 To improve the prospects for some success, the negotiators largely agreed at a closed-door breakfast on Thursday that a deal involving significant new tax revenues and large-scale changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, whose growth in an aging population is driving long-term projections of growing debt, is not going to happen. 
 
 Instead, they agreed, the talks will aim at a more modest, confidence-building measure to replace the sequestration cuts in 2014. Negotiators could aim higher, for a deal saving at least $1 trillion over the next nine years to substitute completely for the arbitrary sequestration cuts. But neither side was hopeful of that. 
 
 Even with lower sights, negotiators face the same hurdle over taxes that has ended a series of bipartisan talks in 2011 — between Mr. Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner; between Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader; and between lawmakers on a so-called supercommittee. 
 
 “The old bugaboo that has made other conferences fail is revenues,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat. 
 
 Tea Party-infused lawmakers seemed unbowed and still uncompromising despite their loss over the debt limit and government funding for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. So did the conservative groups like Club for Growth and Heritage Action that goaded them on. 
 
 Like the Congressional actors, the White House is not expecting a grand bargain, as much as Mr. Obama — and Mr. Boehner, for that matter — would like to have that as a legacy. But it is determined to see an end to sequestration, and is counting on the cooperation of Republican leaders since the military is in line for greater automatic reductions than domestic programs in January. 
 
 Rank-and-file Republican lawmakers and the party base, however, have come to see sequestration as a victory. 
 
 By his televised remarks at the White House, Mr. Obama sought to project a tone of compromise, aides said, though some Republicans heard some partisan gloating. He also described a budget goal more expansive than the Congressional negotiators are setting, but one that neither party’s leaders rule out. 
 
 “This shouldn’t be as difficult as it’s been in past years because we already spend less than we did a few years ago,” Mr. Obama said. “Our deficits are half of what they were a few years ago. The debt problems we have now are long term, and we can address them without shortchanging our kids, or shortchanging our grandkids, or weakening the security that current generations have earned from their hard work.” ||||| President Trump Donald John TrumpMichelle Obama says not always easy to live up to "we go high" Georgia certifies elections results in bitterly fought governor's race Trump defends border deployment amid fresh scrutiny MORE on Friday threatened to veto a massive $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, raising the prospect of a government shutdown. 
 
 The president vented his frustration that the measure does not include enough funding for his long-promised border wall between the U.S. and Mexico or protections for young immigrants covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. 
 
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 "I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded," Trump tweeted. 
 
 I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018 
 
 The tweet comes after the White House reassured lawmakers that Trump would sign the spending bill, pleasing leaders in both parties who scrambled to reach a deal before Friday's funding deadline. 
 
 “Let’s cut right to the chase. Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes,” White House budget director Mick Mulvaney John (Mick) Michael MulvaneyOn The Money: Why the tax law failed to save the GOP majority | Grassley opts for Finance gavel, setting Graham up for Judiciary | Trump says China eager for trade deal | Facebook reeling after damning NYT report Mulvaney positioning himself to be Commerce Secretary: report Top House Budget Dem predicts a 'nonconfrontational' committee under Dem leadership MORE said Thursday. 
 
 If Trump instead vetoes the measure, it would trigger a government shutdown beginning Saturday. 
 
 Members of the House and Senate have already begun to leave Washington ahead of a two-week holiday recess and are not prepared to quickly pass a stopgap spending measure. 
 
 The Senate sent the bill to Trump’s desk early Friday morning on a bipartisan, 65-32 vote hours after the House approved the measure. The bill would fund the government through the end of September. 
 
 Sixty-five of 97 senators voted early Friday morning to approve the omnibus, giving it two-thirds support in the upper chamber and enough to override a Trump veto. 
 
 The spending package, however, would face an uphill path getting two-thirds support in the House, where Trump’s support among Republican lawmakers is more solid. 
 
 The House approved the measure Thursday with 256 out of 423 votes, or roughly three-fifths support — well short of the two-thirds threshold. 
 
 Trump had dragged his feet in supporting the proposal, even though members of his own staff had participated in the negotiations on Capitol Hill. 
 
 Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanCalif. congresswoman-elect bumps into Pelosi at airport How this year’s freshmen can save the Congress — and themselves Democrat Katie Porter unseats GOP's Mimi Walters MORE (R-Wis.) on Wednesday made a last-minute trip to the White House, meeting with Trump for 45 minutes to persuade the president to sign the measure. 
 
 Ryan declared victory on Thursday, telling reporters “the president supports this bill, there’s no two ways about it.” 
 
 A spokeswoman for Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's veto threat. 
 
 A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the leader did not have a statement to issue at press time. 
 
 "One of two things will happen. He either signs the bill by the end of the day, or he ends up signing a bill he likes even less after Republicans have to renegotiate with Democrats to get out of a shutdown," the source said of the options facing Trump. 
 
 Some Republicans, however, are egging the president on. 
 
 Sen. Bob Corker Robert (Bob) Phillips CorkerCorker: 'Everything points' to Saudi crown prince ordering Khashoggi's killing CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi murder: report McConnell, Flake clash over protecting Mueller probe MORE (R-Tenn.) on Friday morning urged Trump to veto the measure. 
 
 "Please do, Mr. President,” he wrote on Twitter. “I am just down the street and will bring you a pen. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible.” 
 
 A shutdown would wreak havoc with the congressional schedule , as many lawmakers have planned official trips for the two-week Easter recess. 
 
 Sen. Christopher Coons Christopher (Chris) Andrew CoonsHillicon Valley: Facebook reeling after NYT report | Dems want DOJ probe | HQ2 brings new scrutiny on Amazon | Judge upholds Russian troll farm indictments | Cyber moonshot panel unveils recommendations Senators introduce Trump-backed criminal justice bill Dems press Justice Department to probe Facebook over political attacks MORE (D-Del.) is leading a congressional delegation trip to Africa, for example. And many lawmakers are in Rochester, N.Y., for the funeral of Rep. Louise Slaughter Dorothy (Louise) Louise SlaughterNew York New Members 2019 Democrats see hypocrisy in GOP attacks on ‘liberal mob’ Poll: Dem leads by 24 points in race to replace Louise Slaughter MORE (D-N.Y.). 
 
 Trump may be trying to highlight his reluctance to sign the bill given opposition from conservatives, who have cast it as wasteful spending. He also could be trying to skirt blame for the inability to reach a deal to protect DACA recipients, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. 
 
 The president floated a plan that would offer them a pathway to citizenship in exchange for funding for his border wall and changes to the legal immigration system. 
 
 But Congress rejected that proposal, instead giving Trump a fraction of the money he requested for border barriers. 
 
 “DACA was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall,” Trump tweeted minutes before his veto threat. 
 
 Updated at 10:04 a.m. 
 
 Max Greenwood contributed to this story.
– If he were a betting man, it doesn't sound like President Trump would be betting on a short-term budget agreement passing Congress by Friday. In brief comments to reporters outside the Pentagon Thursday, Trump said there "could very well be" a shutdown. "We'll see what happens. It's up to the Democrats," Politico quotes him as saying. That seems to be Mitch McConnell's line, too. Politico reports—by way of GOP sources and an email from McConnell it viewed—that should the short-term funding bill the GOP is pushing not pass by the Friday deadline, McConnell plans to try to foist the blame for the ensuing shutdown on Democrats and their DACA-related demands, particularly those Democrats whose seat will be up for grabs this fall and who hail from states Trump won (there are 10, Politico notes). The reported strategy is for McConnell to keep the Senate in session all weekend and arrange a slew of votes that could put Dems in a bad light, should they continually vote against things like the Children’s Health Insurance Program. If a shutdown does kick in at midnight Friday, the AP reports the impact would be evident but not paralyzing. Federal workers would be impacted and national parks could close, but essential things—Social Security payments, Homeland Security, the military, air traffic control, food inspection—would truck on. There could be an economic cost, though. In a great primer on what a shutdown could mean, the Los Angeles Times notes that the 16-day 2013 shutdown dropped Q4 GDP growth from 3% to 2.4%, per Standard & Poor's estimates.