Article snippet: Washington is bracing for a prolonged shutdown that is already in its second week.The partial shutdown has left a quarter of the government closed, and 800,000 federal workers furloughed or forced to work without pay. Power in Congress is about to shift, with Democrats taking the House majority on Thursday. Yet it seems unlikely this will result in an immediate change in the dynamic. Democrats on Monday announced a new plan for opening the government as soon as on Thursday, but Rep. MORE’s, almost immediately shot it down. “If the is the best effort at compromise that she can muster then the partial shutdown will continue weeks not days,” Meadows told The Hill. Democrats were just as tough in their rhetoric, arguing it would be irresponsible for Senate Republicans not to take up their package, which would fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 8 at existing spending levels, effectively punting a decision on Trump’s wall on the Mexican border to that date. It would separately fund other parts of the government through the end of the current fiscal year. The Senate previously approved a stopgap bill to fund all of the remaining bills, including DHS, through Feb. 8. MORE (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “It would be the height of irresponsibility and political cynicism for Senate Republicans to now reject the same legislation they have already supported,” they said, alluding to a bill that passed the Senate in December. MORE (R-Ky.), an appropriator wh... Link to the full article to read more