Jan 24, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Dueling plans to reopen government both fail in Senate

Photos: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call and Alex Wong via Getty Images

Both the Republican-backed Senate proposal to reopen the government — which included $5.7 billion to fund President Trump's border wall — and the Democrat-backed clean funding bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to advance either measure.

The big picture: Neither bill was expected to pass. However, the Democratic proposal, which would have funded the government through Feb. 8, earned 2 more votes than Trump's plan to trade temporary DACA and TPS protections for a border wall. Six Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Mitt Romney (Utah), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Johnny Isakson (Ga.) — voted in favor of both bills.

Details: The final tally for the Republican proposal was 50-47. Republican Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Tom Cotton (Ark.) — an immigration hardliner — voted against the bill. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.v.) voted in favor.

The vote count for the Democrat proposal was 52-44.

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 4 p.m. ET: 19,189,737 — Total deaths: 716,669 — Total recoveries — 11,610,192 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 4 p.m. ET: 4,917,050 — Total deaths: 160,702 — Total recoveries: 1,598,624 — Total tests: 59,652,675 — Map.
Politics: White House recommends Trump issue executive orders on coronavirus aid.
Education: Cuomo says all New York schools can reopen for in-person learning.
Public health: Surgeon general urges flu shots to prevent "double whammy" with coronavirus.
World: Africa records over 1 million coronavirus cases — Gates Foundation puts $150 million behind coronavirus vaccine production.

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White House recommends Trump issue executive orders on coronavirus aid

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (L) and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speak to the media on Capitol Hill. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said President Trump should sign executive orders unilaterally addressing coronavirus stimulus spending after negotiations with congressional Democrats stalled again on Friday.

Why it matters: Friday was viewed as a self-imposed deadline to negotiate a new relief bill. But after an intense week of negotiations on Capitol Hill, White House and Democratic leadership failed to reach a deal on delivering much needed aid to Americans and businesses.

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Counterintelligence chief: Russia aiming to “denigrate” Biden ahead of election

William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, before Congress in 2018. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina said Friday that the Russian government is "using a range of measures" to "denigrate former Vice President Biden" before the November election.

Why it matters: Evanina warned that some Kremlin-linked actors are trying to support President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television, while others are spreading false claims about corruption to undermine Biden and the Democratic Party.