This again ...Congress is coming down to the wire on keeping the government open
https://www.vox.com/2018/3/19/17131296/congress-government-shutdown-deadline-march
Congress has to strike a deal on federal spending by midnight on March 23 or the government will run out of money and shut down again.
But with less than week to pull together a massive spending bill, negotiations still have hangups, and lawmakers are taking the fight down to the wire.
Republicans are trying to slip in conservative priorities like hiking spending for the Department of Homeland Security to expand the number of immigrant detainee beds and Democrats are pushing for a liberal spending agenda, prioritizing non-defense spending programs. While Democrats dont have control of either chamber, they can block funding through a filibuster in the Senate.
Republicans need at least nine Senate Democrats to sign on to their spending agenda for it to pass. Meanwhile, theres still a big question mark over what the White House will sign on to. President Trump has called for some hardline spending priorities like defunding sanctuary cities and border wall funding that Democrats will almost certainly oppose.
But with the midterm elections around the corner, theres little appetite in Congress for another government shutdown, and lawmakers seem more willing to let their controversial policy priorities fall to the side.