Alabama Senator Doug Jones Tries to Forge Last Minute Compromise –

U.S. Senator Doug Jones of Alabama talking to a member of his staff in his office in the Russel Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.: Glynn Wilson

By Glynn Wilson –

The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned just before 7 p.m. on Friday, leaving the Capitol before approving a measure that could pass the Senate and be signed by the president to fund the government and the border wall President Trump demanded, virtually ensuring a partial government shutdown at midnight and the closure of federal agencies.

Republicans in the Senate failed to secure the votes needed for a bill with $5 billion Trump demanded for a border wall, which was vehemently opposed by Democrats.

Hours before the deadline, lawmakers met with Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials in a last-ditch effort to find a compromise government funding bill acceptable to both political parties and the president. There was little indication any such agreement was at hand, but senators said talks would continue.

Trump said the impending shutdown of key parts of the federal government could last “a very long time,” and he sought to blame Democrats. They put the blame squarely on him for his demand for wall funding after previously indicating support for bipartisan legislation that passed the Senate without that money.

“President Trump has thrown a temper tantrum and now has us careening towards a ‘Trump shutdown’ over Christmas,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. “You’re not getting the wall today, next week or on January 3rd, when Democrats take control of the House.”

The House is set to return from recess at noon on Saturday, however, and the Senate seemed committed to trying to reach an agreement, although some Senators had already flown home and had to turn around and come back just four days before Christmas.

Unfounded Rumor

There was an unfounded rumor going around on social media in Alabama that junior Senator Doug Jones, the Birmingham Democrat, would vote for the money for a wall. After I asked him and his staff for a response to confirm or quell the rumors, Senator Jones issued a statement on his vote to proceed to debate on the continuing resolution bill passed by the House.

Senator Jones has been working with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle Friday to find common ground to fund the government, his staff said in the press release.

“On Wednesday, the Senate passed with unanimous bipartisan support a bill that would have funded the federal government,” Senator Jones said. “Unfortunately, the House sent us a bill that clearly could not earn the necessary votes to pass in the Senate.”

So Jones worked with Republican Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona and the leadership from both parties to forge a commitment that the Senate would proceed with debate, but that no further votes would be taken until an agreement is reached that could pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president.

“In essence, my vote tonight was a vote to proceed to find common ground,” Senator Jones said. “It is only by finding common ground that we can fulfill our duty to govern effectively.”

Watch Senator Jones’ remarks on the Senate floor after the vote.

—
Get your copy of the new Amazon Kindle book with a new lead chapter on how Doug Jones overcame the odds to beat Ten Commandments Judge Roy Moore in the special Senate election last year. It is FREE online until Christmas.

Jump On The Bus: Make Democracy Work Again