WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. government shutdown will enter its third day on Monday as Senate negotiators failed to reach a deal late on Sunday on Democrats’ demand for legislation protecting “Dreamers,” young people brought to the country illegally as children.

The Senate set a vote for 12 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday on advancing a measure that would provide temporary government funding through Feb. 8 and allow thousands of federal employees to return to work.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also offered an olive branch to Democrats when he pledged in remarks on the Senate floor to bring immigration legislation to a floor debate in early February if the issue had not been dealt with by then.

“It would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues,” McConnell said, adding: “It is also my intention take up legislation on increased defense spending, disaster relief and other important matters” then.

It was not clear whether enough Democrats would vote on Monday to advance the temporary spending bill and end the government shutdown.

Funding for federal agencies ran out at midnight on Friday, and was not renewed amid a dispute between President Donald Trump and Democrats over the politically acrimonious issue of immigration.

Refusing to support another short-term government funding extension last week, Democrats demanded that the Republican president live up to an earlier agreement to protect Dreamers from deportation.</s>The leader of the Republican majority in the United States Senate announced Sunday that the chamber would vote at noon Monday on a bill to fund the government, which remained partially closed during the weekend, after the federal budget was not approved on Jan. 19.

The senators will vote on a bill to keep the Administration open until Feb. 8, Senator Mitch McConnell said.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress voted on Monday to end a three-day U.S. government shutdown, approving the latest short-term funding bill as Democrats accepted promises from Republicans for a broad debate later on the future of young illegal immigrants.

The fourth temporary funding bill since October easily passed the Senate and the House of Representatives. President Donald Trump later in the evening signed the measure, largely a product of negotiations among Senate leaders.

Enactment by Trump of the bill allowed the government to reopen fully on Tuesday and keep the lights on through Feb. 8, when the Republican-led Congress will have to revisit budget and immigration policy, two disparate issues that have become closely linked.

The House approved the funding bill by a vote of 266-150 just hours after it passed the Senate by a vote of 81-18.

Trump’s attempts to negotiate an end to the shutdown with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer collapsed on Friday in recriminations and fingerpointing. The Republican president took a new swipe at Democrats as he celebrated the Senate’s pact.

“I am pleased that Democrats in Congress have come to their senses,” Trump said in a statement. “We will make a long term deal on immigration if and only if it’s good for the country.”

Immigration and the budget are entangled because of Congress’ failure to approve a full-scale budget on time by Oct. 1, 2017, just weeks after Trump summarily ordered an end by March to Obama-era legal protections for young immigrants known as the “Dreamers.”

The budget failure has necessitated passage by Congress of a series of temporary funding measures, giving Democrats leverage each step of the way since they hold votes needed to overcome a 60-vote threshold in the Senate for most legislation.

With government spending authority about to expire again at midnight on Friday, Democrats withheld support for a fourth stopgap spending bill and demanded action for the Dreamers.

‘DREAMERS’

The roughly 700,000 young people were brought to the United States illegally as children, mainly from Mexico and Central America. They mostly grew up in the United States.

Former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program gave the Dreamers legal protections and shielded them from deportation.

Democrats, as a condition of supporting a new spending stopgap, demanded a resolution of the uncertain future Trump created for the Dreamers with his DACA order last year.

But Democratic leaders, worried about being blamed for the disruptive shutdown that resulted, relented in the end and accepted a pledge by Republicans to hold a debate later over the fate of the Dreamers and related immigration issues.

Tens of thousands of federal workers had begun closing down operations for lack of funding on Monday, the first weekday since the shutdown, but essential services such as security and defence operations had continued.

The shutdown undercut Trump’s self-crafted image as a dealmaker who would repair the broken culture in Washington. It forced him to cancel a weekend trip to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Clouds pass over the U.S. Capitol at the start of the third day of a shut down of the federal government in Washington, U.S., January 22, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

The U.S. government cannot fully operate without funding bills that are voted in Congress regularly. Washington has been hampered by frequent threats of a shutdown in recent years as the two parties fight over spending, immigration and other issues. The last U.S. government shutdown was in 2013.

Both sides in Washington had tried to blame each other for the shutdown. The White House on Saturday refused to negotiate on immigration issues until the government reopened.

On Monday, Trump met separately at the White House with Republican senators who have taken a harder line on immigration and with moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Doug Jones.

Reuters/Ipsos polling data released on Monday showed Americans deeply conflicted about the immigration issue, although majorities in both parties supported the DACA program.

‘WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT?’

Some liberal groups were infuriated by the decision to reopen the government.

“Today’s cave by Senate Democrats - led by weak-kneed, right-of-centre Democrats - is why people don’t believe the Democratic Party stands for anything,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Markets have absorbed the shutdown drama over the past week.

U.S. stocks advanced on Monday as each of Wall Street’s main indexes touched a record intraday level after the shutdown deal.

Slideshow (5 Images)

For Jovan Rodriguez of Brooklyn, New York, a Dreamer whose family came from Mexico when he was 3 years old and ultimately settled in Texas, the latest development was more of the same.

“Why do we have to wait - again? It’s like our lives are suspended in limbo,” he said. And they have been for months. I don’t trust the Republicans and I don’t trust (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell with just a promise. That’s not good enough any more.”</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption Nearly 700,000 employees could be sent home without pay

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are waking up in the US, unable to work because of a government shutdown.

The US Senate has failed to reach a temporary budget deal to keep it open.

Some employees will not be paid until the stalemate is resolved.

A vote will take place at noon in Washington (17:00 GMT) on whether to re-open government. Immigration remains one of the main sticking points between Republicans and Democrats.

Democrats have refused to back a temporary budget deal until their concerns on immigration reform are dealt with.

Essential federal services are still running across the country, but non-essential workers are not required to report to work.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Government workers on what happens during a shutdown

Why has the government shut down?

At midnight on Friday, lawmakers failed to agree on a spending bill. The bill was not a plan for funding for the whole of 2018, but would have kept things running until the middle of next month.

Efforts to reach a compromise ahead of the working week failed in a rare Senate session late on Sunday.

A vote to end the shutdown was postponed until midday on Monday, meaning many federal government offices will not open as the shutdown enters its third day.

Under Senate rules, the bill needs 60 votes in the 100-member chamber.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Donald Trump's shutdown voicemail

There are 50 Republican senators who are present and able to vote in the upper chamber on Monday, but at least 10 Democrats are needed to pass a budget.

Republican Senator John McCain is away from Washington to receive cancer treatment.

Democrats want President Trump to negotiate over immigration as part of a budget deal, but Republicans say no agreement is possible while federal government services are closed.

Republicans want funding for border security - including a proposed border wall with Mexico - and immigration reforms, as well as increased military spending.

On Saturday, Mr Trump said the "nuclear option" of a simple majority vote was necessary to end the impasse.

More on Trump's first year

What does a shutdown mean?

It means no pay for those federal employees who are "furloughed" - on unpaid leave - even though their workplaces are not open.

The last government shutdown was in 2013, and lasted for 16 days.

It cost the government $2bn in lost productivity and led to "significant negative effects on the economy", the OMB said at the time.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Free coffee for federal workers near the White House during the shutdown

After the 2013 shutdown, Congress passed a bill ensuring employees who were on unpaid leave received pay cheques for the time they missed. However, receiving pay is not guaranteed this time as Congress would have to approve it again.

The shutdown began on the first anniversary of President Trump's inauguration. His trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, has also been called into question.

What's closed and what's open?

Most staff in the departments of housing, environment, education and commerce will be staying at home on Monday. Half of workers in the treasury, health, defence and transportation departments will also not be going to work.

But essential services that protect "life or human property" will continue, including national security, postal services, air traffic control, some medical services, disaster assistance, prisons, taxation and electricity generation.

And the Trump administration said it planned to keep national parks open - their closure in the 2013 shutdown provoked an angry public reaction.

However, many rangers and staffers will not go into work.

The Statue of Liberty was closed on Sunday but the governor of New York said he will use state funds to keep the historic landmark open from Monday.

However, Independence Hall which is home to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, will be closed along with other national landmarks.

The defence department issued guidance saying that all military active duty personnel will continue to work without pay.

Other closures include:

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will discontinue routine establishment inspections and other food safety activities during the shutdown

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will cease operations of disease prevention programs but will continue to respond to seasonal influenza outbreaks

Why can the two sides not agree?

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Americans are singularly unimpressed"

This is the first time a government shutdown has happened while one party, the Republicans, controls both Congress and the White House.

Friday's vote fell 50-49, far short of the 60 needed to advance the bill. This is due to a number of key disagreements.

Democrats have demanded protection from deportation of more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants who entered the US as children.

"I hope it is just a matter of hours or days. But we need to have a substantive answer, and the only person who can lead us to that is President Trump. This is his shutdown," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told the CBS network on Saturday.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The missing - consequences of Trump's immigration crackdown

But Vice-President Mike Pence reiterated his party's stance in a speech to US troops in the Middle East on Sunday.

"We're not going to reopen negotiations on illegal immigration until they reopen the government and give you, our soldiers and your families, the benefits and wages you've earned," he said.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. government shutdown will enter its third day on Monday as Senate negotiators failed to reach a deal late on Sunday on Democrats’ demand for legislation protecting “Dreamers,” young people brought to the country illegally as children.

The Senate set a vote for 12 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday on advancing a measure that would provide temporary government funding through Feb. 8 and allow thousands of federal employees to return to work.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also offered an olive branch to Democrats when he pledged in remarks on the Senate floor to bring immigration legislation to a floor debate in early February if the issue had not been dealt with by then.

“It would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues,” McConnell said, adding: “It is also my intention take up legislation on increased defense spending, disaster relief and other important matters” then.

It was not clear whether enough Democrats would vote on Monday to advance the temporary spending bill and end the government shutdown.

Funding for federal agencies ran out at midnight on Friday, and was not renewed amid a dispute between President Donald Trump and Democrats over the politically acrimonious issue of immigration.

Refusing to support another short-term government funding extension last week, Democrats demanded that the Republican president live up to an earlier agreement to protect Dreamers from deportation.</s>WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A U.S. government shutdown will enter its third day today as Senate negotiators failed to reach a deal late on Sunday on Democrats’ demand for legislation protecting “Dreamers,” young people brought to the country illegally as children.

The Senate set a vote for 12 p.m. (1700 GMT) today on advancing a measure that would provide temporary government funding through Feb. 8 and allow thousands of federal employees to return to work.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also offered an olive branch to Democrats when he pledged in remarks on the Senate floor to bring immigration legislation to a floor debate in early February if the issue had not been dealt with by then.

“It would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues,” McConnell said, adding: “It is also my intention take up legislation on increased defense spending, disaster relief and other important matters” then.

It was not clear whether enough Democrats would vote today to advance the temporary spending bill and end the government shutdown.

Funding for federal agencies ran out at midnight on Friday, and was not renewed amid a dispute between President Donald Trump and Democrats over the politically acrimonious issue of immigration.

Refusing to support another short-term government funding extension last week, Democrats demanded that the Republican president live up to an earlier agreement to protect Dreamers from deportation.</s>The shutdown is barreling into the workweek after senators failed late Sunday to clinch a deal to reopen the government.

The impact of the closure is set to dramatically increase starting Monday. Hundreds of thousands of government employees face possible furloughs, some federal functions could cease and it remains to be seen whether public museums and tourist attractions will remain open.

“It gets a lot more real when the week starts,” Rep. Charlie Dent Charles (Charlie) Wieder DentThe Hill's Morning Report — Mueller testimony gives Trump a boost as Dems ponder next steps The Hill's 12:30 Report: Muller testimony dominates Washington Lawmakers, press hit the courts for charity tennis event MORE (R-Pa.) told reporters. “The longer these things drag on, the harder it gets.”

But there is optimism that the shutdown, now entering its third day, could end soon.

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The Senate at noon on Monday is set to take a procedural vote on a government funding bill that would last for roughly three weeks, until Feb. 8.

Democrats are mulling whether to support that bill after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMajority fear mass shooting in their community: poll Top Democrats press Trump on background checks legislation The Hill's Morning Report - Congress returns: What to expect MORE (R-Ky.) offered his assurances late Sunday that the chamber would take up immigration legislation, regardless of whether the issue is addressed in a yearlong funding package.

"Should these issues not be resolved by the time the funding bill before us expires on Feb. 8, 2018, assuming the government remains open, it would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues," McConnell said on Sunday night, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

DACA, an Obama-era program that allows certain immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally as children to work and go to school in U.S., has been at the center of the shutdown talks. President Trump Donald John TrumpTrump awards Medal of Valor, civilian honors to responders in Dayton and El Paso shootings Texas Democrats unveil 'path to victory' plan for 2020 The Hill's 12:30 Report: Congress returns with gun violence, funding atop agenda MORE is ending the program, arguing the Obama administration did not have the authority to create it.

McConnell's comments appeared to reflect the work of a bipartisan group of senators that met on Sunday to discuss a possible path to getting 60 votes for a government funding bill.

Still, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerTop Democrats press Trump on background checks legislation GOP senator on gun reform: Trump needs to 'set some guidelines' on what he'll sign Congress faces sprint to avoid another shutdown MORE (D-N.Y.) cautioned that a deal was not yet done.

"We have had several conversations, talks will continue, but we have yet to reach an agreement on a path forward that would be acceptable for both sides," Schumer said after he blocked a GOP effort to set up a vote for Sunday night on the three-week funding bill.

For now, it’s up to the Trump administration to begin carrying out the first full-scale shutdown of the government since 2013.

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney John (Mick) Michael MulvaneyTrump failed American workers even without the trade war Rep. Flores becomes latest Texas Republican to retire Bipartisan senators urge Trump administration to release Ukraine aid MORE is encouraging federal agencies to use available funds to keep operating as a way to keep more programs running as usual.

And the administration is also taking steps to minimize the impact by leaving parks or other federal functions open that were shuttered during the 2013 closure.

Rep. Chris Collins Christopher (Chris) Carl CollinsNate McMurray launches second challenge against GOP Rep. Chris Collins Michael Caputo eyes congressional bid House ethics panel renews probes into three GOP lawmakers MORE (R-N.Y.) predicted the full-fledged shutdown wouldn't be as dramatic as it was during the Obama administration.

"I think the impact would be much less and much different than ’13 when President Obama deliberately tried to inconvenience the American public," Collins said.

"Unlike ’13, when Obama weaponized the shutdown, President Trump is not doing that. The World War II memorial’s open, the [National] Mall is open."

The shutdown was barely noticeable over the weekend, when most public-facing government offices are closed.

The situation grows more complicated on Monday morning, when hundreds of thousands of federal workers have to figure out whether to report to work.

About half of the Department of Health and Human Services's staff will be furloughed. The Food and Drug Administration will have to pause activities like food safety inspections.

Military operations will continue and “essential” civilian personnel at the Defense Department will continue working, but they won’t get paid until the shutdown is over.

Americans will also still be able to visit national parks, unlike in 2013, and the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo are expected to open on Monday. They will give updates on their status beyond that “as they know.”

But many National Park Service staffers will be furloughed, meaning that services like trash removal and restroom cleaning will be on hold.

Many grants and permits requiring federal action would stall, while passport processing could start to wind down.

Senators often invoked the worst aspects of the shutdown as they worked through the weekend, raising hopes that they would be able to lock down a deal on Sunday.

“I think everybody who I’ve talked to thinks it’s important to get government open as quickly as possible. We would have liked to do that Friday. We would have liked to do that Saturday. We would like to do that today,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia (Jeanne) Jeanne ShaheenTrump to hold campaign rally in New Mexico NH Democrats attack Lewandowski's lobbying ties amid Senate speculation Lewandowski predicts Trump will win by wider electoral margin in 2020 MORE (D-N.H.) told reporters.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Mary (Heidi) Kathryn HeitkampPence to push new NAFTA deal in visit to Iowa Al Franken says he 'absolutely' regrets resigning Trump nominees meet fiercest opposition from Warren, Sanders, Gillibrand MORE (D-N.D.) added that “one of the things we learned from the last shutdown is as things go on positions harden. ... Resolution gets more difficult the longer we wait.”

But a bipartisan push for a Sunday night deal ultimately fell short, with Schumer and McConnell unable to nail down an agreement.

The two parties engaged in an intense messaging war all weekend over who was to blame for the shutdown, which began when the majority of Democrats and some Republicans rejected a short-term funding bill that did not address DACA or government spending caps.

Democrats blamed Trump for the lack of a deal, with Schumer quipping that negotiating with the president is “like negotiating with Jell-O.”

Republicans, meanwhile, accused Democrats of hypocritically holding the country hostage to please their liberal base.

Given the tensions, it’s not clear whether there will be 60 votes to end debate on the three-week funding bill, either.

Five Democrats supported the mid-February funding bill that the Senate easily rejected last week, and it’s possible that some other Democrats — particularly red-state Democrats up for reelection this year — could flip and support the new package.

A spokesman for Schumer declined to discuss Democrats’ remaining reservations about the deal offered by McConnell, saying they wouldn’t negotiate through the press.

Both Senate caucuses are expected to meet on Monday. And there are some signs of progress that indicated McConnell is closer to having 60 votes by the new noon deadline.

A bipartisan group, which includes nearly a dozen Democrats, have been discussing a potential solution and pitching their ideas to leadership. They will meet again on Monday morning.

“A fair amount of my day was spent in one-on-one meetings with different senators who were not sitting at the table and are either really opposed … or really not engaged on the immigration debate from the other caucus and just trying to get a sense of what’s possible,” said Sen. Christopher Coons Christopher (Chris) Andrew CoonsSenate Democrat says he is working with Republicans on bipartisan gun legislation Sunday shows - Taliban talks in spotlight after Trump's cancellation Senate Democrat concerned Trump isn't listening to foreign policy advisers MORE (D-Del.).

In another boost to McConnell, he picked up the support of Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeFlake donates to Democratic sheriff being challenged by Arpaio in Arizona The Hill's Morning Report - Trump says US-China trade talks to resume, hails potential trade with Japan, UK Joe Arpaio to run for Maricopa County sheriff in 2020 MORE (R-Ariz.) for the three-week continuing resolution. Both Republican senators voted with Democrats against the House measure last week, giving them bipartisan cover.

Sen. John Cornyn John CornynTrump awards Medal of Valor, civilian honors to responders in Dayton and El Paso shootings The Hill's Morning Report - Congress returns: What to expect Cornyn faces toughest race yet in changing Texas MORE (R-Texas) — who met with McConnell, Graham and Flake on Sunday night — described himself as “optimistic” that the shutdown will soon end despite the funding fight getting kicked to Monday.

"On balance, it's better to have a successful vote tomorrow at noon than a failed vote tonight," he said.</s>As the Senate prepared for a procedural vote at noon, President Trump went on Twitter to argue Democrats are acting at the behest of their "far left base" in demanding protections for young undocumented immigrants in negotiations to reopen the government.

"The Democrats are turning down services and security for citizens in favor of services and security for non-citizens. Not good!" he wrote.

In a television interview, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) called Democrats' position "bizarre" and "just ridiculous."

"We were in bipartisan, earnest, good-faith DACA negotiations before the shutdown," Ryan said on "Fox & Friends," referring to talks over how to resolve the status of immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday night that the two sides had "yet to reach an agreement on a path forward" after moderate senators spent the day trying to bridge the gap between the two sides.

Their proposal — to link a three-week extension of government funding to the consideration of an immigration bill in the Senate — prompted McConnell to announce that he would be willing to consider debating various immigration proposals on the floor in mid- to late February if an agreement on immigration were not other­wise reached before then by party leaders.

"Let's step back from the brink," he said. "Let's stop victimizing the American people and get back to work on their behalf."

Government shutdown foreshadows a 2018 of inaction and gridlock

But Democrats doubted the Senate Republican leader would follow through.

McConnell's pledge is "clearly inadequate, an empty promise, a transparent ploy without any commitment to making dreamers legislation part of a must-pass bill," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in an interview with CNN.

Blumenthal said that in order to win enough Democratic support to reopen the government, McConnell should commit to including immigration legislation in the spending bill.

The effects of the shutdown over the weekend were relatively limited: halting trash pickup on National Park Service property, canceling military reservists' drill plans, switching off some government employees' cellphones.

But the shutdown's continuing into Monday, the start of the workweek, means that hundreds of thousands of workers will stay home and key federal agencies will be affected. Federal contractors will see payments delayed, and the Internal Revenue Service will slow its preparations for the coming tax season.

The impasse continues as it was unclear whether the public would blame the Republicans, who control the White House and Congress, or Democrats taking a stand on immigration while shuttering government agencies.

White House legislative affairs director Marc Short said progress was being made in the negotiations, despite the appearance of a logjam.

"I feel like there's been significant progress," Short said Monday in an interview with CNN, arguing he sees Democrats moving "toward our position." "I think that honestly there's a lot of progress here."

But whether Republicans can find compromise on immigration remained as uncertain as ever Sunday, with no clear backing from House Republican leaders or Trump, who showed no sign of retreating from his hard line on immigration.

Still, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said he was optimistic the Senate would vote Monday to break the impasse. Schumer, he said, "wants to just give everybody a chance to chew on it and sort of understand it, and so that's why he didn't want to have the vote tonight."

Matt House, a spokesman for Schumer, said the Democrats "made some reasonable offers to Senator McConnell and he hasn't accepted them yet. The caucus is waiting for him to move some in our direction."

The bipartisan group scrambled for a compromise, but the decision ultimately belonged to McConnell and Schumer.

"We're trying to be helpful in showing them that there is a path forward," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who hosted more than 20 fellow moderates in her office for an early afternoon meeting.

Sunday began with more of the partisan posturing that marked much of the previous week, delivered on the morning news programs, on the House and Senate floors, and in a presidential tweet.

Trump wrote that if the "stalemate continues," then Republicans should use the "Nuclear Option" to rewrite Senate rules and try to pass a long-term spending bill with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes needed to pass most legislation — a notion Trump has previously floated to McConnell's repeated dismissal.

The president otherwise remained uncharacteristically quiet, heeding the advice of senior advisers who argued that he has the upper hand over Schumer and the Democrats and that they would soon be forced to capitulate.

On the Senate floor, Schumer showed no signs of caving and kept pressure on Republicans.

"Not only do they not consult us, but they can't even get on the same page with their own president," he said. "The congressional leaders tell me to negotiate with President Trump; President Trump tells me to figure it out with the congressional leaders. This political Catch-22, never seen before, has driven our government to dysfunction."

As the clock ticked toward a scheduled 1 a.m. Monday vote — set by McConnell in part because of arcane Senate rules but later postponed — the moderates made the most visible progress toward a deal. Among the participants in the Collins meeting were a number of Democrats who are seeking reelection in states Trump won in 2016 — five of whom voted Friday against sparking the shutdown in the first place.

House Republicans are unusually united that the shutdown is Democrats’ fault

"There are more than just moderate Democrats or conservative Democrats — a majority of Democrats want it to end," said Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.).

All of that weighed on lawmakers who milled around the Capitol, many in flannel shirts, sweater vests and other casual garb.

"If it doesn't happen tonight, it's going to get a lot harder tomorrow," said a windbreaker-and-baseball-cap clad Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who has pressed for action on immigration legislation and met with the moderate group Sunday.

No firm proposal emerged from the meeting, but senators discussed a broad outline that could unlock a deal: modify the temporary spending bill now under consideration in the Senate to expire on Feb. 8, and then find some way to guarantee that immigration legislation moves forward in the interim.

The White House has said it supports the plan for funding through Feb. 8 but has been wary of making concessions on immigration. While legislation protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients could probably move through the Senate with Democrats and a handful of Republicans supporting it, Trump has rejected proposals along those lines, and House GOP leaders are under fierce pressure not to bring up any bill that a majority of Republicans would reject.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Short declined to provide assurances that the president would guarantee a vote on an immigration bill in exchange for a short-term spending deal. "We want to have the right resolution," he said.

Other Republicans also saw little advantage in making any concessions to advance legislation that would provide protections for "dreamers" — undocumented immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children, 690,000 of whom face potential deportation after Trump canceled the DACA program.

Shutdown dynamics highlight the state of politics on Trump’s anniversary

In a brief closed-door meeting of House Republicans, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reassured lawmakers that there would be no negotiations on the issue as long as the government remained shuttered, affirming the White House position.

Cornyn told reporters that the deadline for action to address DACA remained March 5, when the last of the program's participants will see their protected status expire.

"We're more than happy to have a vote on it well before the deadline. We've committed to that," Cornyn said. "But turning the agenda over to Democrats who just shut down the government makes no sense to me. It just seems like it encourages bad behavior."

While there have been talks since early last year about trading DACA protections for more border security funding, as many Republicans want, negotiations have failed to produce a deal.

Democrats said they made a significant concession over the weekend, agreeing to put major funding behind Trump's promised border wall, something that has been anathema to liberals since the 2016 presidential election.

Schumer on Sunday said that in a Friday meeting, Trump "picked a number for the wall, and I accepted it."

"It would be hard to imagine a much more reasonable compromise," he added. "All along, the president saying, 'Well, I'll do DACA, dreamers, in return for the wall.' He's got it. He can't take yes for an answer. That's why we're here."

Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), one of the most outspoken Democratic advocates for immigrant rights, said in a Sunday appearance on ABC's "This Week" that he would agree to the funding.

"I think the wall is a monumental waste of taxpayer money," he said. "Having said that . . . if that's what the hostage takers [demand for] the dreamers, if that's their ransom call, I say pay it."

But the concession was rejected on two fronts. Doubts remained that the Democratic rank and file would agree to wall funding — even with the blessing of Schumer and Gutiérrez. Asked about a deal that could deliver Trump as much as $20 billion for the border wall, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) scoffed, "Oh, come on."

"None of us is at a table where they're talking about $20 billion," she said. "Should there be fencing? Should there be technology? Should they mow the grass so that people can't hide in it? Should there be some bricks and mortar someplace? Let's see what works."

And Republicans themselves scoffed at Schumer's claim that he offered Trump precisely what was demanded. The Democratic offer, they said, fell short of the full, immediate funding the president sought and instead involved yearly installments of funding that could be subject to future shutdown threats.

Moreover, Republicans have demanded concessions on other aspects of the immigration system, including an end to rules authorizing permanent legal immigrants to sponsor family members for legal status and an end to a "diversity visa" program that distributes visas based on a lottery system.

The wall is "one of the three legs of this three-legged stool," said Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a key House conservative. "I'm glad to hear that there is some movement there, but there's a couple of other legs of that stool that have to be put forth."

The battle lines over immigration have become especially firm as spending talks falter. Republican leaders have cast the shutdown as the product of Democrats' prioritization of undocumented immigrants over American citizens.

But a debate has opened up in the party about how far to push that argument. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) questioned an online ad from Trump's campaign that said the president's immigration proposals are "right" and "Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants."

"I don't know if that's necessarily productive," Ryan said on CBS.

Most senators remained cautious about the developments, adding quickly after each burst of optimism that any vote late Sunday or early Monday could easily fall apart and that the moderate group was sparking discussion but was hardly in control.

Sen. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), one of the five Democrats who crossed over on Friday, said he and other Democrats met with Schumer on Sunday morning.

"The pitch is we need to do what's right for the country and he does, too. He feels the same way, and that's what we're trying to do," said Donnelly, who faces a tough reelection fight in a state Trump won.

Sean Sullivan, Paul Kane, Ed O'Keefe, Jacob Bogage, Cindy Boren, Jenna Johnson, Karoun Demirjian and Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. government shutdown will enter its third day on Monday as Senate negotiators failed to reach a deal late on Sunday on Democrats’ demand for legislation protecting “Dreamers,” young people brought to the country illegally as children.

The Senate set a vote for 12 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday on advancing a measure that would provide temporary government funding through Feb. 8 and allow thousands of federal employees to return to work.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also offered an olive branch to Democrats when he pledged in remarks on the Senate floor to bring immigration legislation to a floor debate in early February if the issue had not been dealt with by then.

“It would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues,” McConnell said, adding: “It is also my intention take up legislation on increased defense spending, disaster relief and other important matters” then.

It was not clear whether enough Democrats would vote on Monday to advance the temporary spending bill and end the government shutdown.

Funding for federal agencies ran out at midnight on Friday, and was not renewed amid a dispute between President Donald Trump and Democrats over the politically acrimonious issue of immigration.

Refusing to support another short-term government funding extension last week, Democrats demanded that the Republican president live up to an earlier agreement to protect Dreamers from deportation.</s>WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate scheduled a vote for Monday at noon (1700 GMT) on a stopgap spending measure, canceling a planned vote for Monday at 1 a.m. (0600 GMT), ensuring that the federal government will remain closed when the work week begins.

“It would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues. It is also my intention to take up legislation on increased defense spending, disaster relief and other important matters,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Peter Cooney)
The United States Senate schedules a vote for noon Monday to fund the government through February 8. Since the Senate did not reach a budget compromise late Sunday evening, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will face furloughs on Monday and many federal government offices will remain closed though some facilities, such as the Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo, are scheduled to be open.