 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., smiles as he meets with reporters as work continues on a plan to keep the government as a funding deadline approaches, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., smiles as he meets with reporters as work continues on a plan to keep the government as a funding deadline approaches, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Instead, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., went with a deal that would reap tens of billions of dollars for other priorities — including combatting opioids — while hoping to solve the immigration impasse later. The plan also contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. 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. 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. 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. Scott Applewhite) (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate's top leaders announced Wednesday they have sealed agreement on a two-year budget pact that would shower both the Pentagon and domestic programs with almost $300 billion above existing limits, giving wins to both GOP defense hawks and Democrats seeking billions for infrastructure projects and combatting opioid abuse. 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.
– Congress is getting closer to avoiding another shutdown later this week. The Senate's top leaders announced Wednesday they have sealed agreement on a two-year budget pact that would shower both the Pentagon and domestic programs with almost $300 billion above existing limits, giving wins to both GOP defense hawks and Democrats seeking billions for infrastructure projects and opioid abuse. The agreement is likely to be added to a stopgap spending bill that passed the House on Tuesday and is aimed at averting a government shutdown Thursday at midnight, per the AP. One new hurdle: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California announced she would oppose the budget measure unless her chamber's GOP leaders promised a vote on legislation to protect "Dreamer" immigrants. Senate Democratic leaders earlier dropped their strategy of using the funding fight to extract concessions on immigration, specifically on seeking extended protections for young immigrants brought to the US illegally as children. Instead, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went with a deal that would reap tens of billions of dollars for other priorities while hoping to solve the immigration impasse later. Both he and Mitch McConnell said they were confident of avoiding a shutdown, and the White House signaled that President Trump supports the deal, reports Politico. The plan also contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. It would also increase the government's borrowing cap to prevent a first-ever default on U.S. obligations that looms in just a few weeks.