Democrats balk at McConnell's offer; shutdown will likely be extended

quote:

---

Top lawmakers fear the two parties may become so entrenched that the shutdown could drag on for days.

LINK

Washington began its third full day of the federal government shutdown on Monday without any clear plan to dig itself out of its self-inflicted mess.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has teed up a vote for noon Monday that would re-open the government through Feb. 8. He pledged Monday on the Senate floor that as long as the government remains open he will proceed to an immigration debate with a "fair" amendment process and a debate that will have a "level playing field."

But so far, that doesn’t appear to be enough to persuade Senate Democrats to break the spending impasse.

"The Senate cannot make progress on any of these crucial matters until the government is reopened. We need to move forward, and the first step, the very first step, is ending the shutdown," McConnell said.

---

quote:

---

Democrats, feeling burned about the House neglecting the Senate’s immigration bill in 2013, want a more ironclad commitment from GOP leaders to take up a legislative fix to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has given legal protections to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants.

But it's looking unlikely that Democrats will get one, at least for now.

---