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SCOT LEHIGH In the absences of leadership, US senators have to take matters into their own hands.  Michael A.

Senior White House adviser MORE met with moderate Republican senators Wednesday afternoon in an effort to find a resolution to the 19-day partial government shutdown. Sen.

The Democratic-led House approved a bill Wednesday to reopen the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Administration, among other federal agencies. The chamber voted 240-188 to advance the measure, with eight Republicans bucking party lines to back the bill, which is the first of four bills expected to be brought to the floor by Democrats. The Republicans who voted to advance the measure Wednesday included Reps.

Several Senate Republicans on Wednesday challenged President Trump on his strategy for ending a 19-day shutdown during a closed-door meeting where they expressed specific concerns over the harm it is causing to federal workers and the economy.  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who faces a tough reelection in a state Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, said she asked Trump to consider a bipartisan compromise t

MORE (D-N.Y.). "I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier?" he continued. "Nancy said, NO.

MORE abruptly left a White House negotiating session with congressional Democrats about 20 minutes into the meeting, dismissing it as a “total waste of time” as the partial government shutdown careened toward a fourth week. The acrimonious collapse of the talks left no clear solution for ending the impasse, which has consumed Washington and raised concerns about pain for hundreds of thousands of federal workers across the country. Top Democrats said they once again urged Trump to reopen shuttered government agencies during the abbreviated meeting.

In contrast to Trump’s solo performance, the Democratic leaders appeared side-by-side in their rebuttal.

“This is a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice,” Trump said in his eight-minute address, describing it as “a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul.” The president detailed the ongoing migration and illegal immigration crisis but did not declare an official State of Emergency, which would allow him to shift funding to fund border security without Congress. “This is the cycle of human suffering I am determined to end,” he said. He noted that migrant women and children were “victims” of the broken immigration system, specifically citing the more than 20,000 children broug

Cohen tweeted — then soon deleted — a response to presidential biographer Jon Meacham shortly after Trump’s video address to the nation:

“Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Trump asked Nancy Pelosi if she would bring up a vote for border security within 30 days if he signed a bill to reopen the government. According to Trump, Pelosi said, “No.” “I said bye-bye, nothing else works!” Trump wrote. Vice President Mike Pence noted that Democrats remained unwilling to negotiate a deal with the president and confirmed Trump’s account of the meeting. “When she said no, the president said, ‘goodbye,'” Pence recalled. Reporters