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Government funding negotiations fall apart

Capitol Hill
U.S. Capitol. Photo: Photo: Zach Gibson via Getty Images

Bipartisan negotiations to strike a border security deal and to keep the federal government open have broken down over the past 24 hours.

Driving the news: "Negotiations reached an impasse on Saturday, primarily over detention beds and interior enforcement, according to four sources familiar with the talks," Politico reports.

  • "Democratic negotiators offered a deal to their Republican counterparts, but Republicans are refusing to negotiate until Democrats take back their demand for a cap on the number of beds used for undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes, two of the sources said."

What's next? Very unclear. If the talks are dead, Trump is so dug in he has only two options: shut down the government again or use his emergency powers to get the money.

  • Our thought bubble: Both options are horrible. The first would herald a return to chaos, depleted government services and federal workers being deprived of pay. The second would mean an instant court fight and backlash from Congress.

Go deeper: Mick Mulvaney says we "absolutely cannot" rule out another shutdown

Government shutdown