Stephen Dinan

Dems give up shutdown fight

Democrats ended their filibuster Monday and agreed to reopen the government, ending a three-day work shutdown that embarrassed Washington and only deepened the gridlock that has gripped Capitol Hill.

January 22, 2018

Mitch McConnell pledges full immigration debate

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday he will ignite another massive immigration debate -- the fourth in the past 12 years -- in coming weeks, as he sought to convince Democrats to end a filibuster that has shut the government down.

January 22, 2018

Dems reject deal, shutdown to last into Monday

Senators were reaching for a deal overnight Sunday to try to end a 2-day-old government shutdown, hoping to prevent the worst of the effects of furloughs that hits in earnest on Monday.

January 21, 2018

Dreamer shutdown shows power of illegal immigrants

Democrats called it the Trump shutdown. Republicans labeled it the Schumer shutdown. But in reality, it was the Dreamer shutdown.

January 21, 2018

Report finds ‘chaos’ in Donald Trump’s first travel ban

Homeland Security was "caught by surprise" when President Trump issued his first travel ban last January, the department's inspector general said in a new report Friday that details the chaotic first days after the inauguration last year.

January 21, 2018

Dreamers reject compromise to reopen government

A key group of illegal immigrant "Dreamers" said Sunday that a deal lawmakers are considering to reopen the government with a promise to turn to immigration soon isn't good enough, heaping more pressure on Democrats to keep the shutdown going.

January 21, 2018

Chaplain warns senators they’ll ‘reap the whirlwind’ of shutdown

Congress opened its second day under the government shutdown Sunday with a prayer from the chaplain labeling the entire thing a miscalculation and pleading for sanity to prevail.

January 21, 2018

Congress makes no progress on first day of shutdown

Congress blasted through the first day of a government shutdown Saturday with little substantive progress on ending the blockade, and no end in sight.

January 20, 2018

Trump and Schumer fight over Friday meeting

President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer can't even agree on what happened in their Friday meeting, which was held to try to avert the partial government shutdown that began hours later.

January 20, 2018

Schumer says talking to Trump is ‘negotiating with Jell-O’

As the shutdown clock ran deeper, Democrats defended their blockade of government funding, saying they tried to strike a deal but found an impossible partner in President Trump.

January 20, 2018

‘Dreamer’ shutdown halts E-Verify, a key illegal immigration enforcement tool

One of the ironies of the immigration-fueled shutdown is that the government's most powerful tool for weeding out illegal-immigrant workers was also shut down.

January 20, 2018

Lindsey Graham offers path out of ‘Dreamer’ shutdown

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the Republicans who joined Democrats' shutdown filibuster Friday night, offered a plan forward Saturday, saying he wants to see a 20-day funding bill passed along with a guarantee that the Senate will quickly move to debate immigration next month.

January 20, 2018

Illegal immigrants cheer as Dreamer shutdown hits

Democrats called it the Trump shutdown. Republicans labeled it the Schumer shutdown. But in reality, it was the Dreamer shutdown.

January 20, 2018

U.S. Government shutdown hits after Democrats block funding

The government careened into a shutdown Saturday morning as Democrats made good on their threat to withhold votes to fund the government until Republicans agree to grant citizenship rights to illegal immigrant "Dreamers."

January 20, 2018

Shutdown showdown vote at 10 p.m. Friday

With a shutdown on the line, GOP leaders announced a 10 p.m. Friday vote on the last chance to keep the government open, daring Democrats to filibuster and force the government to run out of funding.

January 19, 2018

Trump says talks going ‘excellent’ but Democrats need to pass short-term bill

President Trump said Friday that his meeting with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer to try to head off a shutdown was "excellent," but said he's still pushing Congress to approve a four-week stopgap bill to give all sides space to work out a final deal.

January 19, 2018