The Federal government was poised for a partial shutdown beginning at midnight tonight despite House and Senate action aimed at avoiding that. As of our deadline at 6:00 p.m. today, the Senate voted to proceed to consider a bill that was approved by the House on Thursday that would provide $5.7 billion for construction of a border wall along the U.S. southern border, and $8 billion in disaster relief for states impacted by hurricanes and wildfires. But the funding for a border wall has been a nonstarter for Democrats in the Senate, and is seen as having poor chances of making it through the Senate. On Wednesday, a continuing resolution (CR) was passed by the Senate to keep the government running through February 8, but failed to receive support from President Trump. The House then followed suit and introduced the new stopgap funding measure that the Senate is now due to consider. The House late today voted to adjourn for the day, and will meet again tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.
