US lawmakers fail to negotiate an end to shutdown

Bloomberg

Lawmakers failed to negotiate an end to the government shutdown despite a bipartisan effort to broker a deal, raising the political stakes as federal agencies begin closing at the start of their normal workweek.
Many more Americans will begin feeling the repercussions of a shutdown that officially began at 12:01 am after most government offices had stopped work for the weekend. The widening disruption intensifies frantic efforts by Republicans and Democrats to blame one another for the deadlock and may harden the determination of lawmakers to gain leverage from the moment.
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York met after a bipartisan group of more than 20 Senate moderates spent the day trying to work out a funding deal to prevent the shutdown from extending into the week.
McConnell offered a concession to Democrats by saying it was his “intention” to permit a Senate a vote on an immigration measure after Feb. 8 if the the government was still funded.

‘STEP BACK’
“Let’s step back from the brink,” McConnell said. “Let’s stop victimizing the American people and get back to work on their behalf.”
Democrats, who had sought firmer guarantees from McConnell, weren’t willing to accept his terms. But the move was enough for two key Republicans — Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — to drop their prior objections to a stopgap funding package. Seven more senators would need to change their position in support of McConnell for the government to reopen.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California told colleagues that the chamber will take up whatever the Senate passes, according to a Republican House member. The measure likely will clear the House, the lawmaker said.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump remained off stage as lawmakers shuttled back and forth to try to reach an agreement. Trump did make some phone calls, speaking with the second-ranking Republican leaders in both chambers of Congress about the impasse, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement emailed to reporters.