Congress may be headed toward another government shutdown

As the nation’s capital is consumed by the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, President Donald Trump on Sunday signaled that he is not committed to keeping the federal government open later this month — setting up another potential government shutdown ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

In response to a question asking the president whether he would commit to avoiding another shutdown like the one that roiled Washington almost one year ago, Trump refused to rule out the possibility.

“I wouldn’t commit to anything,” Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn on Sunday. “It depends on what the negotiations are.”

With the House of Representatives in the midst of a 10-day recess, the House and Senate have just eight legislative days remaining where both chambers are in session to strike a deal to avert a government shutdown ahead of the Nov. 21 deadline.

Lawmakers must come to terms on 12 appropriations bills that fund all federal agencies, or pass another stop-gap continuing resolution — maintaining current spending levels until they can agree to terms on any changes.

After little progress on bicameral negotiations leading up to the end of the fiscal year, Trump signed a short-term spending bill in September to buy lawmakers additional time to reconcile differences, especially on funding for the president’s border wall, on Capitol Hill.

But that eight-week extension did little to reignite negotiations so it’s very likely Congress will need to pass another short-term bill before funding runs dry.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was concerned that Trump would shut down the government over the impeachment inquiry.

“I believe left to our own devices Congress could work out an agreement to quickly fund the government,” Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters on Capitol Hill. “But I’m increasingly worried that President Trump may want to shut down the government again because of impeachment, an impeachment inquiry. He always wants to create diversions.”

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On Friday, the Senate passed a package of four of 12 appropriations bills in an 84-9 vote, funding the operations of major agencies such as Agriculture, Transportation and Interior.

But those are the only appropriations bills the Senate has been able to muster. Later in the day, Senate Democrats rejected a defense spending bill, objecting to $5 billion slated for the president’s desired border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was quick to criticize Democrats on the Senate floor last week over the move.

“There’s no small amount of irony associated with the fact the president is apparently being impeached over in the House for holding up aid to Ukraine and at the same time Democrats are going to filibuster the defense bill, which would provide for the assistance to Ukraine,” McConnell, R-Ky., said last week.

McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi connected on the phone last week, when aides to the leaders say they agreed that they both want to finish the appropriations bills by the end of the year.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., pressed his colleagues to put partisan politics aside and support funding for U.S. troops on the ground in a floor speech last week.

“Our men and women in uniform should never find themselves on the battlefield wondering if they will be able to support their families back home. They should never wonder if their training needs, support requirements or mission objectives will be held hostage by partisan bickering. They should never wonder why America’s adversaries are doubling down on their military investments while America is sitting idle,” Shelby said.