Washington, DC, is on edge this Friday as Senate Democrats barrel the United States of America toward a government shutdown at midnight.

The House of Representatives, on a bipartisan basis, passed a bill that keeps the government open with 230 votes–and now its fate rests in the hands of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Senate Democratic conference, who would be solely responsible for a government shutdown if it happens. The Senate overwhelmingly on Thursday evening voted for a motion to proceed onto the bill, but now the funding measure needs 60 Senators to vote for it to eventually pass. Since only 47 Republicans are definitely yea votes, that means Republicans need at least 13 Senate Democrats to vote to fund the government.

The Democrats are pushing for this shutdown because they are hellbent on getting amnesty for a significant population of illegal aliens who were recipients of the unlawful Barack Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive amnesty program. The White House and congressional Republicans have been more than willing to offer a deal and proposal to handle this problem, but the Democrats have been unwilling to give up chain migration, the visa lottery, and funding for President Trump’s planned border wall.

Breitbart News will bring live updates here as the country barrels over the shutdown cliff.

UPDATE 1:07 A.M.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning a series of votes starting tonight that are filled with measures to hammer Democrats walking into the midterm elections after their decision to vote to shut down the federal government. The Schumer Shutdown is already proving to be very politically painful for Senate Democrats.

UPDATE 1:02 A.M.

Democrats are facing major political consequences all across the nation for shutting down the federal government on Friday night. Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, blasted Democrats for their intransigence across the board ahead of the all-important midterm elections coming up.

“Senate Democrats shut down the government over petty political games and blind opposition to Republican efforts to pay our troops and fund health care for nine million vulnerable children,” McDaniel said. “This was an unnecessary crisis created by Democrats who jeopardized funding for services for lawful American citizens and our military over an unrelated issue surrounding illegal immigration. The president and congressional Republicans are committed to fight for the American people; it’s clear Democrats are only interested in fighting for Chuck and Nancy.”

UPDATE 1:00 A.M.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is under serious pressure back home in Wisconsin after she voted to shut down the federal government on Friday evening.

“Instead of voting to support our military and to ensure vulnerable children have access to health insurance, Baldwin went along with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to pick Washington over Wisconsin,” Alec Zimmerman, spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement issued early Saturday. “In her own words from 2013, a shutdown hurts Wisconsin families – this shutdown lies solely at the feet of Baldwin and Washington Democrats.”

UPDATE 12:48 A.M.

The Schumer Shutdown–led by congressional Democrats–is already hurting Democrats’ political chances in the 2018 midterm elections. Matt Gorman, the communications director of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)–which works to elect House Republicans–issued a statement tonight ripping the Democrats for their shutdown of the federal government.

“Today is Day One of the ‘Schumer Shutdown.’ House and Senate Democrats refused to fund the government and voted to block children’s health care to cater to their activist left base,” Gorman said. “There is no other option. Fund the government. Fund CHIP. Do it now.”

UPDATE 12:45 A.M.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi bashed Republicans in a statement on the Schumer Shutdown that the Democrats are responsible for.

It’s clear that negligence and incompetence are in the Republican DNA. This is the first time I can ever recall a party with control of the White House and BOTH chambers of Congress causing a government shutdown. #TrumpShutdown — Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) January 20, 2018

They spent the entirety of 2017 trying to repeal the ACA and forcing through their #GOPTaxScam. Meanwhile, the vital priorities of the American people were cast aside. A “good shutdown” is what @realdonaldtrump wanted. We will hold him and Republicans accountable. — Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 12:42 A.M.

Vice President Mike Pence, who is in flight on his way to Egypt for a state visit there and to other countries, issued a statement from the air to the press–taking the unusual step of making WiFi available to reporters flying on Air Force Two to get this Pence statement out to the country.

“Our administration worked in good faith to put a bipartisan deal on the table that would strengthen our borders, end chain migration, eliminate the visa lottery, and deal compassionately with DACA,” Pence said. “But rather than solve problems, Democratic leadership preferred a shutdown that has dangerous consequences for our national defense. Their action tonight — or lack thereof — is unconscionable. Our administration will do everything within our power to support the brave men and women in uniform who stand on the frontlines of freedom. But as of tonight, due to a completely avoidable government shutdown, they’ll stand their post without pay.”

UPDATE 12:39 A.M.

Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the number three official in Senate GOP leadership, issued this statement on the Democrat shutdown led by Schumer.

“Democrats continue with their obstruct-at-all-costs approach by threatening a government shutdown over illegal immigration,” Thune said. “The continuing resolution includes provisions that should be supported by members of both sides of the aisle — including funding for our troops and a six-year extension of the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program. By forcing a government shutdown, Democrats are preventing our troops from receiving the resources they need to help keep our nation safe, and they are jeopardizing the future of an important program that provides health coverage to children in need. Democrats should end these partisan, political games and join us in funding the government.”

UPDATE 12:37 A.M.

McConnell says he will offer an amendment to change the date of the short-term funding deadline to Feb. 8, back from Feb. 16.

UPDATE 12:34 A.M.

McConnell returns to the Senate floor to comment the five Senate Democrats who stood up their party leadership’s shutdown strategy. Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) all rejected the plot by Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Democrats to shut down the government.

UPDATE 12:32 A.M.

Schumer says, “The blame should lay entirely on President Trump’s shoulders.” Schumer continues repeating the term “Trump Shutdown.”

But House Speaker Paul Ryan notes that the Senate Democrats are entirely to blame for the Schumer Shutdown.

“Senate Democrats have let down our troops, our children, and all Americans,” Ryan said in a statement released just now. “They will do anything to appease their base, even shut down the federal government. There is nothing in this bill to keep the government open that Democrats actually oppose, and yet they are blocking it nonetheless in a dangerous political ploy. All of this is just unnecessary. It is reckless. Senate Democrats have brought us to a shutdown.”

UPDATE 12:29 A.M.

As Schumer is still speaking trying to explain away his and his Democratic colleagues’ government shutdown, it’s worth going back to the White House statement from Sarah Huckabee Sanders which notes that these Democrats under Schumer’s command are “obstructionist losers.” It remains to be seen if the Democrats will, when the Senate votes again on this legislation tonight, vote again to shut down the government.

UPDATE 12:27 A.M.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is attempting to explain why he and his Democrat colleagues voted to shut down the government. “This afternoon, in my heart, I thought we might have a deal tonight,” Schumer said after his meeting in the Oval Office with President Trump earlier, a meeting he said was a “good meeting.”

Schumer attacks President Trump, saying he “did not press his party” to back any other deals than the House-passed legislation. “He backed off at the first sign of pressure,” Schumer says of Trump.

“We could have passed a short-term extension of funding so we could have” hammered out the details on negotiations on healthcare, immigration, and other issues, Schumer says. Schumer blasts “chaos” and “disarray” that he says are “standing in the way of bipartisan solutions” before the country.

UPDATE 12:21 A.M.

McConnell announces that the Senate will vote again on the measure early Saturday so the “American people know” who stands with them, and who stands against them.

UPDATE 12:20 A.M.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as expected, votes against the bill for procedural reasons so he can call the vote back up if necessary eventually after future negotiations. McConnell immediately offers a motion to reconsider the vote and begins speaking on the Senate floor and notes the White House press secretary’s statement saying that the White House will not negotiate on amnesty for DACA recipients while Democrats are holding America hostage with the Schumer Shutdown the Democrats are solely responsible for.

McConnell calls the Senate vote a “cynical decision” by Senate Democrats to “shove aside” Americans for “political gain.” He notes the government funding bill contains “nothing they do not support.”

“To America’s men and women in uniform, shutting down the government means delayed pay,” McConnell adds. He lists off the consequences for many other Americans, including veterans, families of fallen heroes, for children’s healthcare, for those struggling with the opioid epidemic, and for government employees.

“I’m having trouble understanding which one of these outcomes my Democratic colleagues can be proud of?” McConnell adds.

UPDATE 12:15 A.M.

Just to be clear, technically the government is not “shut down,” yet even though there is a funding lapse–it remains to be seen what happens on the Senate Floor and in Congress, and, technically, there still could be something that happens this evening before lawmakers head home. But it seems unlikely there will be anything unless Senate Democrats change their votes, which they can do, to prevent an official shutdown from happening.

Keep in mind this is technically a “lapse” in funding. Gov’t isn’t officially shut down unless order goes out from OMB/OPM. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

Also, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is ripping Democrats for their shutdown now:

McCarthy: Senate Democrats just chose to cut off pay to our troops, cut off funding to the VA, and cut off insurance for American children in an absurd ploy to enact unspecified immigration provisions for a program that isn’t about to expire — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 12:11 A.M.

The Trump White House is dropping the hammer on the Democrats after they shut the government down. Until they stop this Schumer Shutdown and reopen the government, Team Trump is saying there will be no more immigration negotiations.

Key point from Trump admin: No negotiations on immigration until government reopens. — Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 20, 2018

The Trump White House was more than open to doing a deal on DACA, as long as Democrats voted to end chain migration, end the visa lottery, and fund the border wall. But Democrats opposed those completely reasonable positions for purely political and diabolical reasons–because chain migration and the visa lottery will provide them with millions of more voters in the next 15-20 years, and because they oppose a border wall despite proof it would keep Americans safe from the dangers of illegal immigration.

UPDATE 12:07 A.M.

Even the New York Times is noting that the Democrats are responsible for the government shutdown, and own whatever happens next. They had the votes to stop this, and chose to shut the government down.

Own it, Dan. The Democrats held together and voted no. They stopped the CR. If every Republican had voted yes, they still would have stopped the CR. https://t.co/XuAmcHsQde — (((JonathanWeisman))) (@jonathanweisman) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 12:06 A.M.

It is worth noting that the Democrat “Schumer Shutdown,” as it is being called, comes even as a majority of U.S. senators voted for the House-passed bipartisan funding bill. There were 51 votes in favor of it in the Senate, and 230 in favor of it in the House. Six House Democrats, and five Senate Democrats voted for it. And even if the four Senate Republicans who voted against the bill–and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who is back home in Arizona for health reasons–voted for it, Democrats would still be responsible for the shutdown.

UPDATE 12:04 A.M.

This truly historic moment, where Democrats have shut down the government on the exact anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, caps off an incredible year of ups and downs–and furious leftist Democrats. It remains to be seen how long this shutdown will last, but one thing is very clear: Democrats are in an awful political position at the beginning of a year where they were on a path to have political momentum walking into the midterm elections. Thanks to the intransigence of the Democratic Party–particularly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, but really every member of their party except for the six House Democrats and five Senate Democrats who voted for the House-passed funding bill–the government has shut down.

UPDATE 12:00 A.M. SATURDAY

The government has shut down as of now. It remains unclear if any deal will keep this short, or if the shutdown will last into Saturday and the weekend. Senators are still on the floor of the U.S. Senate negotiating past this deadline.

UPDATE 11:59 P.M.

As the government is about to shut down, thanks to Democrats particularly Chuck Schumer, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issues this statement:

UPDATE 11:58 P.M.

As the government shutdown is looming minutes away, the Democrats are losing badly:

https://twitter.com/carney/status/954573803325214720

Except for establishment amnesty backers like Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ):

Snakey Flake dealing with Schumer pic.twitter.com/74k6xG9Tla — ❌Angel Mom Mary Ann Mendoza ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@mamendoza480) January 20, 2018

Senators keep trying to cut a deal but do not seem to be getting anywhere:

Now McConnell is huddling on the floor with Cornyn, Flake, Graham, Cotton and a few other Republicans. — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 11:25 P.M.

If a shutdown happens, CNN’s Manu Raju says it is unlikely to end quickly:

Assuming there’s a shutdown, it’s hard to see how it ends quickly. Immigration is one of the most difficult issues before Congress. And one big lesson from the 2013 shutdown, which lasted more than two weeks: It’s easy to shut down govt, it’s very hard to open it back up — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 20, 2018

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says that the Democrats’ votes to shut down the government are because they cannot shut down Trump’s massively successful economy:

Democrats can't shut down the booming Trump economy. Are they now so desperate they'll shut down the government instead? #SchumerShutdown — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 11:21 P.M.

Less than an hour before a government shutdown, there seems to be another effort afoot to avoid the shutdown.

CORKER tells reporters he’s confident there will be NO shutdown. Says negotiations underway for shorter-term CR than House bill. — Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) January 20, 2018

CORKER: “It’s down to a discussion over dates.” I asked if there’s going to be a compromise, to which he said: “Yeah, no question… no question.”https://t.co/lIaJJCUaBK — Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) January 20, 2018

“It’s a date in early February, a few days apart,” Corker says of CR under negotiation in the Senate. https://t.co/GPjDPN4o04 — Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) January 20, 2018

Schumer and Graham just fist-bumped. Interpret that as you will. — Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) January 20, 2018

But these types of reports have been emerging all day and have not panned out. More importantly, the Democrats seem to have overplayed their hands–and boxed themselves into a strategic miscalculation:

Here is where Dems may have misplayed their hand: President Trump isn’t like other presidents. He doesn’t play by the same template. He’s unpredictable & the best counterpuncher out there. They may have picked the wrong fight. Uncharted territory. @realDonaldTrump #shutdown2018 — David Brody (@TheBrodyFile) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 10:57 P.M.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), another Schumer lackey who voted for a government shutdown tonight, is under fire back in Wisconsin already now too as her likely GOP challenger businessman Kevin Nicholson–the leading candidate in Wisconsin primaries–is hammering away at her calling her “Shutdown Tammy” working for the “Schumer Shutdown.”

Tonight @tammybaldwin broke her promise to Wisconsin families. She voted to shut down the federal government at the expense of our families, military, and economy. It’s time to retire #shutdownTammy. #SchumerShutdown #TakeBackWashington #wisen #wiright — Kevin Nicholson (@KevinMNicholson) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 10:56 P.M.

Again, technically, the vote is still open on the Senate Floor but expected to fail:

Senate procedural vote still open. Not official. But they are well short of 60 yeas to end debate on interim spending bill to avert shutdown. This vote will fail — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 10:53 P.M.

It begins. The Schumer Shutdown’s negative effects on members of his Democratic conference are already becoming apparent, as Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) is ripping Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)–who he is running against in Pennsylvania this year–for voting for a government shutdown tonight.

“While the House passed a Continuing Resolution that provides funding for our military, veterans, seniors, and kids, the Senate rules require 60 votes to pass spending legislation. Republicans only hold 51 seats in the Senate,” Barletta said in a statement bashing Casey’s vote for a government shutdown. “It was impossible for the Senate to get to 60 votes and avert a government shutdown without Democrat support. By voting no tonight, Senator Casey and the Democratic Senators who joined him are solely responsible for denying funding for American citizens. There are 342,000 children in Pennsylvania who benefit from the Children’s Health Insurance Program and 4,900 DACA recipients. By voting to shut down the government, Senator Casey put illegal immigrants over health insurance for our kids. Pennsylvanians should be furious.”

UPDATE 10:50 P.M.

McConnell is expected to vote against the measure when the vote is closed on the Senate Floor for procedural reasons so he can bring the measure back up:

Before everyone gets socked and confused by McConnell voting no on CR: done on purpose so he can move to reconsider the vote at his discretion in the future — Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 20, 2018

McConnell will likely vote NO, opposing ending debate on House passed CR. He will want to call for a revote. And one must be on the “prevailing” side of the vote to do so. In this case, the “noes.” McConnell supports ending debate. But needs to preserve this parliamentary option — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

But the vote is still open right now for unclear reasons.

UPDATE 10:45 P.M.

In perhaps the worst possible outcome for Democrats and for Chuck Schumer, there were a majority of senators voting for the cloture measure on the vote to end debate and stop the filibuster on the House-passed government funding bill. That means, since the measure needed 60 votes to succeed, that it would have passed had Democrats voted for it–and despite obtaining a simple majority, a government shutdown will proceed because of Democrat intransigence on DACA amnesty.

A total of five Senate Democrats broke with the leadership of their party–Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)–on the vote. McCaskill was the biggest surprise, as she voted for keeping the government funded and open despite not having previously announced it. Her vote put the leadership of her party in a difficult position, as the deadline for government funding runs out in just over an hour.

Vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018 like Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bob Casey (D-PA), and both Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) fare worst with this result as it empowers Republicans running against them at the beginning of the midterm election year.

The House-passed spending bill would have kept the government open all the way until mid-February, and has had bipartisan support since it passed the House on Thursday night. Six House Democrats voted for the bill then–putting Senate Democrats in an awful position the past 24 plus hours.

The dramatic Senate vote stayed open much longer than expected, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held his vote back per a Senate procedure that allows him to re-introduce this measure even after failure by holding his own vote back and voting no in the end. But, McConnell would have voted for the measure if it were going to pass which means if he had voted it would have failed with a simple majority of 51-48. The vote will likely technically read as though it failed 50-49, even though McConnell is only likely voting against it so he can use the Senate procedure to reintroduce it after voting no. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who is suffering from brain cancer and is back home in Arizona, did not vote. At a total of four Republicans–Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ)–voted against the measure.

Interestingly, however, the vote still remains open at this time–and it remains unclear if and when it will close or if any senators will change their votes. What happens next also remains unclear, but government funding runs out in a little over an hour.

UPDATE 10:15 P.M.

The Senate has begun voting on the cloture measure on the House-passed government funding bill. The measure needs 60 votes to succeed. It remains unclear if it will get there, but seems unlikely.

UPDATE 10:15 P.M.

As the country awaits a Senate vote on the House-passed funding bill to keep the government open, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) continues to refuse to say whether she will stand with fellow Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, Doug Jones, and Heidi Heitkamp or whether she will vote for a government shutdown.

The clock is ticking… @clairecmc are you willing to put the #SchumerShutdown ahead of our troops and vulnerable children? — GOP (@GOP) January 20, 2018

Is @clairecmc going to vote for the #SchumerShutdown and strip 9 million low-income children of their health insurance? #MOsen pic.twitter.com/F0HFBxoNaS — GOP (@GOP) January 19, 2018

If McCaskill votes against this bill, she will likely face serious criticism ahead of her re-election bid this year in Missouri:

When will @clairecmc take a stance on the #SchumerShutdown? Or will she quietly wait and tell us this wasn’t her idea – after funding for our military and CHIP expires? #mosen — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 10:10 P.M.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) bashes Democrats willing to shut down the government to play politics on issues that have nothing to do with government funding, like DACA. It is worth noting that his fellow Floridian Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) still is refusing to take a public position on the bill. Nelson faces a tough re-election this year, likely against Florida’s highly popular GOP Gov. Rick Scott.

“At a time when we face so much chaos in our politics, the only thing worse than a short-term spending deal is a government shutdown,” Rubio said in a statement issued late Friday. “I too support border security, dealing with DACA, increasing defense spending and disaster relief for Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico. We should keep the government open while we continue to work on these issues.”

UPDATE 10:04 P.M.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) confirms the Democrats plan to plunge the government into a shutdown over DACA amnesty for illegal aliens. Here’s more of what Coons is saying:

COONS just gave a long readout of the situation: – Dems want at least agreement on path forward/talks on DACA and other issues

– But leaders can't agree

– So Dems won't support 3-wk CR

– Shutdown happening

– And Big floor speeches coming soon. — Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 10:03 P.M.

According to MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt, the Democrats plan to vote in a bloc for a government shutdown tonight–imperiling their midterm election chances:

Democrats coming out of meeting say they're unified and vote in Senate expected to go DOWN — Kasie Hunt (@kasie) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 10:01 P.M.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a vulnerable Democrat up for re-election this year in a state in which President Trump trounced Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, is still refusing to take a public position minutes from the vote:

Neither Senator from the third largest state has taken a public position, though Rubio earlier seemed to signal he would support. Nelson trying to buy all the time he can. https://t.co/fWaDqFteMM — Alex Leary (@learyreports) January 20, 2018

Nelson and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)–among others–refusing to take public positions on the bill puts them on the side of a government shutdown unless they vote for the bill on the Senate Floor minutes from now.

UPDATE 9:58 P.M.

Democrats admit they essentially have zero plan on how to avoid a government shutdown that they have orchestrated.

DEMOCRATS still meeting as the vote looms. A senator in the Room says their plan is to go ahead with the currently-scheduled vote, watch it fail and then sort out what to do. Much of the ongoing meeting is about next steps, the senator says via text. — Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) January 20, 2018

The White House’s Marc Short makes it very clear after leaving Sen. Cornyn’s office that this is–again–the Democrats’ fault if the government shuts down–because they won’t vote to stop it:

Short just left Cornyn’s office, said they need 13 or 14 Dems and “right now we don’t have that.” — Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) January 20, 2018

And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi throws out some talking points on Twitter:

Here’s where we’re at: Republicans – who control the House, Senate, and WH – are on the verge of making #TrumpShutdown a reality because they refuse to protect DREAMers and provide long-term certainty for our military, the opioid crisis, CHIP, and other key issues. — Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 9:53 P.M.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, confirms to the media there is “no deal” at this time just over two hours out from a government shutdown and minutes away from a Senate vote on a House-passed plan to keep the government open. The fact that the Democrats are unwilling to vote against a government shutdown is severely damaging their midterm election chances, as evidenced by their dropoff in support in the generic ballot per NBC News and the Wall Street Journal in the latest polling.

UPDATE 9:51 P.M.

President Trump tweets tonight that the Democrats want a shutdown:

Not looking good for our great Military or Safety & Security on the very dangerous Southern Border. Dems want a Shutdown in order to help diminish the great success of the Tax Cuts, and what they are doing for our booming economy. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018

Here is more on what will likely happen next if the Democrats vote for a government shutdown as expected:

Senate will likely fail to secure 60 yeas on the procedural vote. That will demonstrate that there is not the support necessary to advance the House’s plan through the Senate. Then, there will be alternative plans to keep the government offered…either right away or later. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

Possible gov't funding slips past 11:59:59 pm et deadline. The gov't shuts downbut only from a technical standpoint. Congress is still working. It’s the middle of the night. There is lapse in spending authority. Lights stay on if Congress doesn't tell OMB there is an impasse — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

If/when Congress approves interim spending bill & it comes AFTER midnight, Congress can comply w/Article I, Sec 9 of Constitution to provide spending authority by making it retroactive. Fiscal“caulk” essentially, to fill the void where funding lapsed. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

If Senate approves different spending plan besides one ok'd by Hse, Hse must come back to also approve that plan to align with Senate to avert shutdown — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 9:40 P.M.

The Democrats are in an awful position ahead of 10 p.m. vote in the U.S. Senate on the measure to keep the government open. That’s why the Democrats are scrambling to try to get some kind of a deal that allows them to save face instead of voting to shut the government down. They are in awful shape, and Schumer and Pelosi steered their members into this position by trying to force DACA amnesty into the government funding battle–something Schumer previously said even Democrats who support amnesty should not do so as to avoid chaos. Republicans are winning right now.

Entirely unclear what a 3 week CR accomplishes that a 4 week CR doesn't, except allow Democrats to claim they won some portion of this battle (and then increase pressure to get bigger deal done, faster) — Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 9:34 P.M.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) bashes the House-passed spending bill in a video she released on Twitter but does not say in the video whether she will vote for or against the bill:

We need to stop kicking the can down the road and start working together across party lines to deliver real solutions. pic.twitter.com/SmUr5EFrcU — Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) January 19, 2018

She is getting ripped apart back in Wisconsin as her fellow Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and the front-running GOP candidate against her businessman Kevin Nicholson are hammering her for enabling Schumer’s shutdown.

UPDATE 9:30 P.M.

Fox News is reporting that Senate Democrats are likely to cave here and try to offer a short-term Continuing Resolution (and frame it as they are offering GOP an off-ramp) even without DACA in it:

Colleague Mike Emanuel rpts Senate source says Dems are deciding if they want to offer GOPers "some face-saving deal like a 3 week CR (continuing resolution) instead of 4” week. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 9:28 P.M.

Breitbart News’s Sean Moran files this fact check of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who continues to refuse to say whether she will vote for a government shutdown or for the House-passed government funding bill on Friday evening:

Despite Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) claim on Friday that there has never been a government shutdown with one party in control of the executive and legislative branch, there have been multiple government shutdowns with one party in control of Congress and the presidency. In fact, the government has only shut down in recent history with one party, the Democratic party, in control of Congress and the White House. McCaskill claimed on Friday night, “Never before in the history of this nation has the government been shut down with one party in control of both Congress and the Presidency. Never.”

Never before in the history of this nation has the government been shut down with one party in control of both Congress and the Presidency. Never. — Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 19, 2018

The government first shut down with President Jimmy Carter and Democratic control of the House under Speaker Tip O’Neill and Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd from September 30 to October 13, 1977. The Senate at the time wanted to loosen the restriction for Medicaid dollars, known as the “Hyde” amendment, to allow funding for cases of rape and incest. The government shut down once again between October 31 and November 9, 1977, after the Democrat-controlled Congress and presidency after the Democrats could not come to a solution on the issue of abortion funding. The government shut down for the third time from November 30 to December 9, 1977 over the issue of abortion; the issue was eventually resolved when Democrats eventually granted Medicaid funding for abortion in the cases of rape, incest, and mother’s health. The government once again shut down under Jimmy Carter and the Democratic-controlled Congress from September 30 to October 18, 1978. The Democrat Congress and President Carter disagreed about Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) Department funding as well a defense spending bill that included funding for nuclear-powered aircraft. Carter believed the defense bill to be too wasteful and the HEW spending bill to contain too much pork spending. The government shutdown for the last time with a unified, Democratic, government from September 30 to October 12, 1979 over the issue of abortion. The House, controlled by Speaker Tip O’Neill, wanted to return to only one exception to abortion funding.

UPDATE 9:23 P.M.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), per CNN, says a “few things are percolating.”

Here is what Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) says:

Rounds, R-S.D., said a bipartisan group of members are discussing a shorter CR that would be enough time to reach substantive agreements on big outstanding issues. Didn't confirm it was 3 weeks — or if anything was certain — Emma Dumain (@Emma_Dumain) January 20, 2018

House Democrats are planning to meet on Saturday morning to discuss the state of play:

HOUSE DEMS have noticed a caucus meeting for tomorrow morning…. pic.twitter.com/zOrjntOsmH — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 20, 2018

House Democrats scheduled a 10am Saturday caucus meeting – per notice sent out to members — Deirdre Walsh (@deirdrekwalsh) January 20, 2018

And Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)–another leftist Democrat planning to vote for a government shutdown by voting against the House-passed government funding bill tonight–is whining about amnesty.

Leaving Schumer’s office, Coons tells me Dems are basically set against the CR, wants his “Republican friends” to get how a “reasonable Democrat like me has ended up in a place where I don’t believe that they’re at all serious” on DACA in next month post-Trump rejection of deal — Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 9:20 P.M.

Developments appear ongoing in the Congress tonight, as Lindsey Graham is hopping in and out of Mitch McConnell’s office.

Well, @LindseyGrahamSC just stopped and told us he is willing to back a CR. — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 20, 2018

Now in McConnell’s office: Graham, Flake, Murkowski, Collins, Rounds.

All positive on the way in.

Graham: “I think we’re inside the 10 yard line on immigration.”

(Says in statement he wants 3 week CR vs 4…) — Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) January 20, 2018

.@LindseyGrahamSC statement saying he will support a 3 week CR. This is a (the?) potential off-ramp tonight, but no sense Democrats (or at least 12) will go for it pic.twitter.com/A8JngGX5I0 — Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) January 20, 2018

Lindsey Graham says the will exists now to work on immigration and spending in the next few weeks, which is why he’s for a 3-week CR. “Time only matters if there’s will.” — Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 9:00 P.M.

A little more than an hour before the vote, it has become clear that despite Democrats’ intransigence, there will be no DACA deal on Friday night, no matter what:

No matter what happens tonight, DACA will not be part of this agreement, according to all sides involved. — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 8:58 P.M.

Another Democrat has broken ranks with Schumer ahead of the vote. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) has announced his intention to vote for the House-passed government funding bill, significantly boxing in any Democrat who votes against the bill–which means any Democrat who votes against tonight’s cloture vote is voting for a government shutdown.

Doug Jones: "as of right now I'll be voting for the CR."

He says CHIP is too big to pass up. — Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 8:20 P.M.

The vote appears to be nowhere near a tie, as Vice President Mike Pence has departed for his trip to the Middle East just now.

Vice President Pence has boarded Air Force Two for his trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Second Lady Karen Pence is joining him. I’ll be posting photos on the @nprpolitics Instagram account along the way. pic.twitter.com/OkkDAXkX1y — Tamara Keith (@tamarakeithNPR) January 20, 2018

Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times, the VP pooler, emailed to the press at 7:39 P.M. that the vice president was taking off soon:

“Air Force Two is rolling on the tarmac at JBA at around 7:36 pm. The plane will land in Shannon, Ireland for a short refueling stop before heading on to Cairo.,” Bennett wrote. “Your pooler could see Vice President Pence standing in the middle of the center aisle and talking briefly to his staff at the front of the plane before it began moving. Our seats were too far away to hear what was said.”

It appears Pence does not believe he could break a tie in the Senate tonight. The vice president leaving the country amid a government shutdown, however, is maybe not the best optics. President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip to Florida this weekend amid the Democratic Party-inspired chaos on Capitol Hill.

UPDATE 8:11 P.M.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), a member of House Democratic leadership, confirms that the Democratic Party expects there to be a government shutdown tonight. Senate Democrats could vote against a government shutdown if they voted for the House-passed government funding bill.

Asst Hse Dem Ldr Clyburn on if there will be a shutdown: “It looks that way.” Says Hse Dems discused “alternatives.” Says they discussed “what to expect if there is a shutdown.” — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 8:08 P.M.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announces his intention, in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, his intention to vote for a government shutdown at 10 p.m. this evening. He plans to vote against the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill, which has nothing contained in it that he actually opposes. Sanders could vote for the bill to keep the government open, but he is refusing to do so.

UPDATE 7:54 P.M.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a leading proponent of amnesty for illegal aliens who has seriously damaged his relationship with President Trump and the Republican Party throughout this process, is now getting angry with reporters in the Capitol screaming at them to “get out of my way!”

“Get out of my way,” Lindsey Graham said to reporters as he shuttled from Schumer’s office back McConnell HQ. — Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) January 20, 2018

Graham just speed walked through the Ohio Clock Corridor and into Schumer’s office — Erica Werner (@ericawerner) January 20, 2018

Angry Lindsey Graham apparently just got some food:

Graham ping poinging from Schumer’s to McConnell’s Office tells reporters: “I just got food, y’all need to get out of my way” — Alan He (@alanhe) January 20, 2018

Update: Graham back to McConnell Office, said he only visited Schumer Office to get food. “Now get out of my way” — Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 7:52 P.M.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn confirms that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has spiraled so far leftward in these negotiations into the realm of extreme–far outside the mainstream–that Schumer cannot find a way back to the highly reasonable positions that Republicans are offering.

“It doesn’t sound like it right now,” Cornyn says of a deal, adding Schumer has gone so far out he doesn’t know how to get back. — Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) January 19, 2018

Schumer and his counterpart on the other side of Capitol Hill, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have steered the Democratic Party into a ditch to begin 2018 when they could have started what was supposed to be a promising year off strong. The consequences for Democrats only continue to get worse as this debate rages onward, and Democrats cannot seem to find a way out.

UPDATE 7:49 P.M.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a vulnerable Democrat up for re-election in Ohio–a state where President Trump trounced Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 election–announces his plans to vote for a government shutdown at 10 p.m. this evening when he is offered an opportunity to keep the government open by voting for cloture on the House-passed government funding bill.

. @SenSherrodBrown will vote NO on House CR but yes on a 3 or 4 day stop gap to give negotiators more time. “We are very close to a bipartisan agreement, and we owe it to the people we work for to keep working and get the job done." — Deirdre Shesgreen (@dshesgreen) January 20, 2018

there’s one catch: a 3-4 day stopgap isn’t coming up for a vote! https://t.co/LOfxSzjcJa — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 20, 2018

While Republican Josh Mandel dropped out of the race against Brown recently, and J.D. Vance is not running against him, this could empower Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH)–a likely candidate against Brown–if and when Brown votes for a government shutdown.

UPDATE 7:46 P.M.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was just spotted walking into Chuck Schumer’s office:

Colleague Jason Donner rpts GOP SC Sen Graham just went into Schumer’s office — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

Graham keeps undercutting President Trump and the Republican Party throughout this process:

GOP SC Sen Graham: There’s no reason to keep this chaos going for 30 days. I will never vote for a proposal that keeps the madness going for 30 days. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 7:45 P.M.

Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) is seemingly more concerned with “supper” than with voting to keep the government open.

Dem VT Sen Patrick Leahy says his wife “of 56 years” is about to bring him “supper” at the Capitol as we await late night votes. Worried he might not get something to eat — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

Leahy is expected, alongside Schumer and many other Senate Democrats, to vote for a government shutdown by voting against cloture on the House-passed government funding bill tonight. If Leahy votes against cloture, he will be voting for a shutdown–and Republicans will surely mock him for some time in the future for being more concerned with “supper” than with troops getting paychecks.

UPDATE 7:41 P.M.

Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) is under fire down in Alabama for refusing to publicly back the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill. For now, Jones appears to be–as he said he would not do during the special election in 2017–acting as Schumer’s puppet, enabling the Senate Democratic leader’s efforts to shut down the government.

While some Senate Dems are announcing their support for the House-passed funding bill, it seems Doug Jones is supporting the #SchumerShutdown… #ALPolitics https://t.co/SkR4zW9eYJ — Seth Morrow (@ssmorrow26) January 19, 2018

Jones could prove his independence from Schumer right now by announcing his support for the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill, just like Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, and Heidi Heitkamp have.

UPDATE 7:35 P.M.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is coming under serious fire as well, as she continues to refuse to say whether she will vote for a government shutdown–or whether she will vote for cloture on the House-passed funding bill that has bipartisan support as well backing from several of her Senate colleagues. She keeps refusing to answer.

.@clairecmc Will you support service members, military families, children, and public service workers tonight? https://t.co/ocDzjEFQyc — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 7:33 P.M.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is calling out Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) for his intransigence against the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill, and his refusal to stand with Democrats and Republicans alike to vote for keeping the government open. It remains to be seen whether Tester will vote for a government shutdown at 10 p.m. this evening when the Senate considers cloture on the House-passed funding bill, but some reports have said that Tester will vote against it.

.@SenatorTester can the military families of Montana count on you to do the right thing? #SchumerShutdown https://t.co/43r0BxdWH1 — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 20, 2018

Meanwhile, on CNN, Sen. Tom Carper (D-MD) announced his plans to vote against cloture on the bill–and for a government shutdown.

UPDATE 7:26 P.M.

The far-left of the Senate Democratic conference–Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR)–are holding a rally with so-called DREAMer illegal aliens outside the capitol right now:

https://twitter.com/eschor/status/954500480369090561

But the rankled Democratic Senate conference will be holding a closed-door meeting at 8:30 p.m. tonight as Schumer struggles to hold his team together:

Looks like we are going right up to the wire tonight. Late-night meetings among House Democratic leaders as well as the Senate Democratic Caucus at 8:30pm. Meaning votes won't occur til after — as the clock approaches midnight. Still need agreement just to hold the vote — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 19, 2018

Just in: @SenateDems will hold a caucus meeting at 8:30 p.m. — Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 7:23 P.M.

The silence from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) is deafening. He continues to refuse to say whether he supports keeping the government open, or whether he will vote for a government shutdown by voting against cloture on the House-passed government funding bill at 10 p.m. on Friday night when the Senate votes.

Sen. Bill Nelson's office at 5:28 p.m. yesterday: "He’s waiting to see what the House passes before he decides how he will vote on it." Sen. Bill Nelson's office since that vote: (silence) — Alex Leary (@learyreports) January 19, 2018

He has been silent all day since late Thursday when the House voted. Nelson’s intransigence severely jeopardizes his general election chances in Florida, a state in which President Trump soundly crushed Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016’s presidential election. Nelson is likely to face Florida Gov. Rick Scott in the general election next year, and his silence on this matter is not helpful to his re-election chances. It provides Scott a giant bludgeon with which to beat him up on the campaign trail this year.

UPDATE 7:19 P.M.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is facing even more criticism for her intransigence, and refusal to vote against a government shutdown.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is flashing back to this 2013 tweet from Stabenow, where she criticized Republicans for a shutdown:

For someone with cancer, they can’t waste any more days. The House GOP needs to #justvote and open the govt. pic.twitter.com/807kSQFrY8 — Sen. Debbie Stabenow (@SenStabenow) October 4, 2013

If Stabenow votes against cloture at 10 p.m. tonight on the government funding bill passed by the House, she is responsible for exactly what she accused Republicans of in 2013–and she is personally responsible for the government shutdown that results.

UPDATE 7:14 P.M.

White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah, on CNN, notes that the Democrat intransigence against this legislation is unexplainable and unacceptable. Shah notes that this exact bill would get wide support from all the Democrat senators if Barack Obama were still president and that Obama would sign it. The only reason why any Democrats are still holding out, Shah said, is because they “hate” Donald Trump, the duly elected President of the United States of America.

“These are measures that they [Democrats] would support as standalones,” Shah said, adding that the Democrats’ feckless attempts to add “amnesty for illegal aliens” into the government funding debate is creating “chaos” just like Schumer said in 2013 it would.

The clock is ticking. It remains to be seen whether Democrats will shut down the government.

UPDATE 7:10 P.M.

The U.S. Senate has scheduled the vote for 10 P.M. ET.

Vote Scheduled: at 10:00pm the Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.195, CHIP/One Month CR. — Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) January 20, 2018

UPDATE 6:48 P.M.

There are 51 yes votes now in the U.S. Senate for the House-passed government funding bill. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) intend to vote against it, they say now, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is in Arizona right now amid health issues related to his recent diagnosis of brain cancer. But even without Paul and Graham and McCain, Republicans have 48 likely yes votes (depending on where Jeff Flake is–which is still up in the air). Add in the now three public Democrat yes votes, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) with the 48 other Republicans and there are 51 votes for the legislation. Vice President Mike Pence would be vote 52, which means all the United States government needs is eight more Democrats to come out for the legislation.

What all of this means, of course, is that if the Senate Democrats do not end up voting en masse for the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill then the Democrats are personally responsible for shutting the government down over something as unpopular as amnesty for illegal aliens.

UPDATE 6:40 P.M.

Now that three Senate Democrats–Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Joe Donnelly (D-IN)–are on board with the bipartisan House-passed plan to keep the government open, pressure is ramping up nationwide on obstructionist Democrats party-wide.

Even senators from far-flung states like Washington State, where Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell represent, are under fire from their state GOP to side with the growing group of bipartisan lawmakers and vote against a government shutdown along bipartisan lines. It would be politically disastrous for any Democrat in the Senate to vote against this bill when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brings it up for a cloture vote on Friday evening.

NEW POLL: Majority of Americans say funding a budget and avoiding a #SchumerShutdown is more important than DACA. @PattyMurray and @SenatorCantwell — please listen to the people! https://t.co/6mKGiSlUMT — Washington State GOP (@WAGOP) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 6:35 P.M.

Another Democrat just broke with Chuck Schumer, and announced her intention to vote for the bipartisan House-passed spending bill.

https://twitter.com/eschor/status/954493976308011008

Sen. Heiti Heitkamp (D-ND), a vulnerable Democrat up for re-election in 2018, announcing her intention to vote for the bill is a horrendous sign for Schumer amid his efforts to try to hold the line against the bill. This imperils Democrats even more, and makes it even harder for people like Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Doug Jones (D-AL), and more to vote to shut down the federal government on Friday night. Schumer’s wall is crumbling.

UPDATE 6:30 P.M.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) drops the hammer on Chuck Schumer in a series of vicious tweets detailing how the Democrats would be personally responsible for anything that happens as a result of a potential looming government shutdown.

Let’s vote tonight, keep the federal government open, extend CHIP for six years, and show our military that we have their backs. I sincerely hope my colleagues on the left come to their senses – and quickly. #SchumerShutdown — Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 19, 2018

I do not like short-term budgeting – never have. But we have a unique opportunity in front of us to extend #CHIP for longer than it has ever been extended since its creation, to make sure our Armed Forces have the support they need, and to keep the govt open. #SchumerShutdown — Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 6:24 P.M.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), a leftist Democrat who represents a state that President Trump won in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, is facing serious criticism back home in Michigan for her announced intention to vote against the House-passed government funding bill that would keep the government open.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is having serious problems holding his conference together on this vote.

UPDATED: 2 Y, 3 N

Heller (NV)

Donnelly (IN) — Y

McCaskill (MO)

Heitkamp (ND)

Manchin (WV) — Y

Nelson (FL)

Brown (OH)

Baldwin (WI)

Tester (MT) — N

Casey (PA) — N

Smith (MN)

Stabenow (MI) — N — Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) January 19, 2018

And again, if Stabenow does end up voting to shut down the federal government late Friday, she is likely to face serious consequences from Michiganders in a state where she was expected previously to have no problems electorally before now.

UPDATE 6:13 P.M.

The silence of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is deafening, as her likely general election opponent in 2018’s midterm elections Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley–a conservative Republican–hammers away at her:

When will @clairecmc take a stance on the #SchumerShutdown? Or will she quietly wait and tell us this wasn’t her idea – after funding for our military and CHIP expires? #mosen — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 19, 2018

It remains to be seen if McCaskill will vote to shut down the government or if she will vote alongside her Democrat colleagues Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin–along with six House Democrats–for the House-passed government funding bill.

UPDATE 6:11 P.M.

President Trump and Speaker Ryan reportedly spoke recently about potential other options than the House-passed bill:

Trump/Ryan spoke recently about trying to get an interim CR tonight. Colleague John Roberts rpts Schumer open to 5-day CR, but WH wants a month-long CR to avert a shutdown. WH more optimistic there will NOT be a shutdown — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

But Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn says to expect a likely vote on the House-passed bill:

Cornyn says Senate will vote on House CR unless a deal is reached. Asked what time we can expect the vote, he says, “I don’t know.” — Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 19, 2018

So does the White House’s Marc Short:

“I think there will be a vote tonight,” Marc Short says He’s been ping ponging between Ryan’s office and Cornyn’s office. — Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 19, 2018

Jeff Flake–a vehemently anti-Trump outgoing senator who was reportedly against the House-passed bill–is now apparently open to it, as at least two Democrats, Joe Manchin and Joe Donnelly, are now in favor of it:

.@JeffFlake is “still looking” at the House-passed CR. “There’s very little information floating around. Very little. Not a good sign.” — Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 5:29 P.M.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not spoken all day Friday ahead of the all-important vote to keep the government open.

McConnell and Schumer have each been in touch with the WH – but haven’t spoken directly yet today. — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 19, 2018

With under seven hours to go before the government shutdown deadline, two sources tells @Phil_Mattingly and @mkraju that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer still haven’t spoken and don’t currently have a conversation scheduled. — Steve Brusk (@stevebruskCNN) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 5:24 P.M.

President Trump just tweeted this:

Excellent preliminary meeting in Oval with @SenSchumer – working on solutions for Security and our great Military together with @SenateMajLdr McConnell and @SpeakerRyan. Making progress – four week extension would be best! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2018

But on CNN right now, OMB director Mick Mulvaney says, “Not much changed throughout the day” and that the Senate is moving forward with a cloture vote soon to pass the House-passed government funding bill.

Mulvaney adds the “only way to avoid” any government shutdown is for the Senate to pass the House-passed government funding bill. The Senate could pass that right now if Democrats vote for a bill that contains nothing they oppose.

UPDATE 5:22 P.M.

In Pennsylvania, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)–another Democrat facing a tough re-election in a state President Trump won in 2016–is under serious fire for dishonest comments he made about a looming government shutdown the Democrats are aiming to cause.

Casey is attempting to put pressure on Republicans here, but it is Democrats like him–and his leader, Chuck Schumer–who hold the power to keep the government open.

The Republicans control the House, Senate and the Presidency. We are on the brink of a shutdown because they refuse to do the basic work of governing. — Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) January 19, 2018

We can get all of this done if Republicans just figure out a way to govern their own party, but right now the Repubublicans running the House and Senate don't seem like they could organize a one-car parade. — Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) January 19, 2018

There are countless more absurd tweets from Casey on his Twitter account. But his inaccurate comments are not going unchecked. Now, Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA)–a pro-Trump Republican congressman from Central Pennsylvania–is stepping forward to call out his hypocrisy.

“I’m sure Senator Casey knows that Senate rules require 60 votes to pass spending legislation,” Barletta said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “Republicans only hold 51 seats in the Senate. It is impossible to get to 60 without Democrat support. Republicans passed a Continuing Resolution through the House without needing Democratic support, but that can’t happen in the Senate. If at least 10 Democrats don’t come to the table, then those Senators who vote no will be solely responsible for shutting down the government. If Bob Casey votes to shut down the government, Casey will be denying health insurance for more than 342,268 children to protect 4,900 illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians should be furious.”

If Casey moves forward with his plan to vote against the House-passed government funding bill–which contains nothing he or other Democrats oppose–and for a government shutdown, Casey will likely face serious consequences on the campaign trail in 2018.

UPDATE 5:16 P.M.

Democrats’ electoral advantage nationwide, as their party aims to send America into chaos with a government shutdown, is slipping dramatically already.

New NBC/WSJ poll: "The Democratic advantage on the generic ballot is down to six points, compared to 11 points last month." — Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) January 19, 2018

The Democrats may be seriously overplaying their hands here, right into GOP efforts–and efforts by President Trump–to hold the GOP majority in the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections. After gubernatorial election wins in November in New Jersey and Virginia, and a shocking special election senatorial victory in Alabama as well as a statehouse election victory in Wisconsin, Democrats looked poised for a big 2018. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s actions here–as well as those of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats–are jeopardizing Democrats’ chances in 2018 in November at the polls.

UPDATE 5:11 P.M.

Now reports are emerging that the red state Democrats in tough re-election battles are struggling so badly with their party’s responsibility for a looming government shutdown that they are working to withhold pay for Congress during a shutdown:

Heitkamp, McCaskill, Tester, Manchin, and Stabenow—all Dems from states that Trump won—are introducing a bill to withhold the pay of members of Congress during a government shutdown — Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 5:08 P.M.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), a red state Democrat up for re-election in 2018 in a state President Trump won big time over Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, is under serious fire back home in Montana for his stated plans to vote against the bipartisan House-passed government funding bill. Matt Rosendale, the leading GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in Montana who is likely to face Tester in the November general election, is now slamming Tester for his plans to vote for a government shutdown–something that will hurt Montanans.

“Jon Tester had a chance to work with President Trump to keep the government open and secure funding for the 44,000 Montana children who rely on CHIP. Instead, he will vote with Chuck Schumer and other liberal Democrats to shut down the government,” Rosendale told Breitbart News. “Senator Tester chose to play politics rather than work with President Trump to do what is right for our state. That’s not the Montana way. Our state deserves a senator who means business and won’t put up with these nonsense political games.”

UPDATE 4:55 P.M.

This thing could go down to the wire–or over the line past midnight, when current government funding runs out:

It's going to take A LOT of cooperation now to avoid a shutdown. Any one senator can delay holding Senate votes before midnight; if Senate makes changes to House bill, Senate would have to agree to a quick vote and then House would have to accept it. All within 7 hours, 15 mins — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 19, 2018

But there is a reported sense of calm in the Capitol before the storm:

Remarkable thing regarding the possibility of a shutdown is how quiet it is now at the Capitol. Not tense at all. And a paucity of information about what may come next — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

Perhaps most importantly, new details are emerging from Schumer’s meeting with Trump at the White House that show how desperate the Democratic leader is before a looming government shutdown. Schumer, per Fox News’ John Roberts and Chad Pergram, apparently attempted to change the subject off DACA in his meeting with Trump to a number of other issues. That fact is evidence that the Democrats are aware of how unpopular their position really is, and how bad of a situation in which they find themselves:

Colleague John Roberts rpts Schumer presented Trump with a nbr of domestic issues beyond just DACA. Trump seemed perplexed & told Schumer he wasn’t going to get all he asked for. But there could be an opening for a short-term CR to avoid a shutdown — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 4:51 P.M.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is severely jeopardizing his re-election chances, as CNN’s Manu Raju reports he supports voting against the House-passed government funding bill for a government shutdown.

With Donnelly and Manchin voting yes, three other red-state Democrats up in 2018 are in different spots: Heitkamp hasn't said what she'd do, nor has McCaskill. Tester opposing House's CR — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 19, 2018

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are currently hiding, not saying where they stand. It remains to be seen if they will vote to shut down the government–and it remains to be seen if Tester will hold his position now that is abundantly clear the House bill has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Six House Democrats voted for the House funding bill, and now two Senate Democrats–Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN)–openly support it. Schumer’s hold on his conference is slipping.

UPDATE 4:32 P.M.

CNN’s polling data, as noted by Jake Tapper live on air just now, finds that 56 percent of Americans think stopping a government shutdown is more important than fixing DACA. Only 34 percent think a DACA fix is more important. That puts the Democrats in an awful position, and it is why Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) have abandoned Schumer’s position on this matter–and it’s why many of the other Democrats conference-wide in the Senate like Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) continue to refuse to say where they stand on this matter.

Tapper is currently ripping Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)–a member of the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty plotters–apart live on CNN trying to get him to answer for Schumer’s actions. Bennet is struggling, as Schumer runs out of messengers to send out on TV–all while Durbin, Schumer’s number two, said everything rides on what Schumer does next.

UPDATE 4:23 P.M.

The Democrat dam is beginning to burst open. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is already widely viewed as a “yea” vote on the House-passed funding bill, and now Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)–another red state Democrat up for re-election in 2018–has announced he will vote for the bill. Schumer is in trouble as he aims to hold his conference together.

Dem Sen. Joe Donnelly a YES on the spending bill: "Keeping the government running is our job, and I will vote to keep the government running." — Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 4:13 P.M.

The Democrats will not be able to hide much longer. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, per Fox News’s Chad Pergram, has announced that the Senate will hold its cloture vote on the bipartisan House-passed Continuing Resolution to keep the government open.

Cornyn says cloture vote to end debate on House CR sometime this afternoon or early evening — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

If Senate Democrats do not vote for this legislation–it needs 60 votes to pass–then they alone will be responsible for the government shutdown, imperiling their midterm election chances.

UPDATE 4:07 P.M.

A new CNN poll finds that a plurality of Americans would blame Democrats if the government shuts down–a total of 31 percent. Only 21 percent would blame President Trump, and only 26 percent would blame congressional Republicans. Another 10 percent would blame all three groups. This polling data is not good for Democrats, especially as Schumer is getting blamed for this even by Durbin as per CNN’s Manu Raju and Ted Barrett.

On television, CNN’s Jake Tapper compared these numbers back to previous polling data from shutdowns during the Barack Obama and Bill Clinton administrations–and found that Republicans are in much better shape than years past.

As the debate rages even more, the situation is likely to get worse for Democrats as they alone have the power to keep the government open–no matter how much they complain about Republicans controlling the House, Senate, and White House. Per current Senate rules, 60 votes are needed to pass the government funding bill. That means Democrats have the power to stop a shutdown if they wanted to.

UPDATE 4:03 P.M.

Nancy Pelosi and Dick Durbin attempted to sneak out of Chuck Schumer’s office after their powwow, but CNN of all networks cornered them–and in a conversation with a CNN reporter, Durbin put everything on Schumer’s shoulders.

Pelosi and Durbin snuck out of Schumer’s office, but were cornered by @tedbarrettcnn. Durbin: What’s the next step? “It’s in the hands of the leader.”

Will there be an agreement before shutdown? “I don’t know if there will be an agreement but Leader Schumer is working on it.” — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 19, 2018

Again, if the government shuts down, now even top Democrats like the Senate Minority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) are admitting that it will be Schumer’s and the Democrats’ responsibility.

UPDATE 3:34 P.M.

The Democrats are clearly not taking this seriously, as Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) is roaming around Capitol Hill with a camera taking photos–rather than trying to keep the government open.

Again, not to belabor the point, but the electoral calamity that exists on the road ahead for Democrats if they vote against keeping the government open–and for a shutdown–when the Senate takes up the House-passed government funding bill cannot be understated. Photos like this of Democrats horsing around rather than trying to govern will likely not come in handy for Democrats in tough races in the midterm elections.

UPDATE 3:29 P.M.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt sent a message to agency employees informing them that the agency, even in the event of a shutdown, will operate as per usual for at least a week.

“As many of you are aware, annual funding for the government expires at midnight,” Pruitt wrote to EPA employees in a message obtained by Breitbart News. “At this time EPA has sufficient resources to remain open for a limited amount of time in the event of a government shutdown. All EPA employees should follow their normal work schedule for the week of January 22, 2018. Should the shutdown occur and remain in place through January 26, 2018, we will provide further updates on the agency’s operating status. In addition, all travel needs to be approved by the Administrator’s Office. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and patience through this process, and for all that you do for the EPA and the American people.”

UPDATE 3:25 P.M.

As their party’s future in the midterm elections hinges on what they do next, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin rushed into Schumer’s office after Schumer’s White House meeting with Trump–in order to get a readout of what happened and figure out what to do next.

We then watched Pelosi and Durbin go into Schumer’s office for a readout https://t.co/ew0mu8Fudj — Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN) January 19, 2018

Democrats are really up a creek here–they voted against children’s health insurance (the CHIP program) in the House en masse on Thursday evening and would get all the blame for a government shutdown if a dozen plus Senate Democrats don’t vote for the bipartisan House-passed bill. A lot rides on what happens next, and all the pressure is on them–not the Republicans, who did their job.

UPDATE 3:18 P.M.

Some of Washington’s favorite haunts, like Capitol Hill bar Capitol Lounge, are having fun preparing for a potential government shutdown:

UPDATE 3:15 P.M.

More from inside Schumer’s meeting with Trump, per Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)–the Senate Majority Whip–who spoke with White House chief of staff John Kelly afterwards. Kelly was inside the meeting with Trump and Schumer.

.@JohnCornyn says he’s spoken with General Kelly and that there were no agreements reached at the White House. “The President told him(Schumer) to go back and talk to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and work it out. So I think that’s the best way to handle this.” — Jennifer Shutt (@JenniferShutt) January 19, 2018

In other words, Schumer will not get bailed out by Trump. He can have his members walk his party off the plank by voting against the House-passed Continuing Resolution, imperiling Democrats’ midterm election chances by making them vote for a government shutdown, or Schumer can step up and provide the votes to keep the government open.

UPDATE 3:12 P.M.

Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), the new radical leftist Democrat senator from Alabama who was elected amid a firestorm of allegations that sank his conservative Republican opponent, is noncommittal on the House-passed spending bill. But he is not opposed to voting for the bill in the end–as voting against it would undermine his chances at re-election in 2020.

Doug Jones, new Alabama D senator, non-committal on backing House CR. “This is no way to run the government,” he tells me. Trump has not called him on this, he says — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 3:10 P.M.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) shoots down Lindsey Graham once again, as the radical open borders senator from South Carolina keeps attempting to empower the Democrats while undercutting President Trump in these negotiations.

Cotton: Donald trump won our party’s nomination. Lindsey Graham didn’t even make it to the starting line. The voters have made it clear that they want Donald trump’s approach to immigration. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 3:07 P.M.

As Chuck Schumer continues to jeopardize his party’s midterm election chances by steering the government towards a shutdown, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is out with new videos ripping apart Democratic congressional candidates across the country. Here is one such video:

On Thursday evening, six Democrats joined 224 Republicans–230 votes in total on a bipartisan basis–to pass out of the House a funding measure to keep the government open. Now, Schumer and his Senate Democrats–in lockstep with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi–are refusing to vote to keep the government open, jeopardizing Democrat election chances nationwide.

Along with the release of these NRCC videos, NRCC communications director Matt Gorman released this statement: “The unconscionable vote these House Democrats took last night will be a major campaign issue in 2018. To Pelosi and Washington Democrats: fund the government. Fund CHIP. Do it now.”

The ads, per the NRCC, target vulnerable Democrats in ten different districts:

(AZ-01) Tom O’Halleran (CA-07) Ami Bera (CA-36) Raul Ruiz (IA-02) Dave Loebsack (MA-09) Bill Keating (MI-05) Dan Kildee (MN-08) Rick Nolan (NY-18) Sean Patrick Maloney

(PA-17) Matt Cartwright

(CA-52) Scott Peters

UPDATE 3:01 P.M.

There still appears to be no deal.

We are told there is no deal after WH mtg between Trump/Schumer — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

Trump’s move of bringing Schumer himself to the White House makes it very clear here that the Democrats in the Senate–at Schumer’s behest–are solely responsible for the shutdown if one happens. If a shutdown happens, every Democrat who votes against cloture for the government funding bill passed by the House will own what happens next, throwing the Democratic Party into further chaos walking into the all-important midterm elections. In other words, Trump schooled Schumer at the White House and boxed in the Democratic leader.

UPDATE 2:58 P.M.

Per this video from Capitol Hill reporters, Schumer is refusing to answer questions about his continued refusal to keep the government open–making matters even worse for Democratic senators facing tough re-election battles in 2018:

VIDEO: Schumer says he and Trump making progress but NO DEAL yet pic.twitter.com/4hackjMBSX — Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) January 19, 2018

It’s worth noting Schumer almost never refuses to take questions. He is known for lunging at opportunities to talk with the media.

UPDATE 2:55 P.M.

Schumer ducked out of the White House dodging reporters into a black SUV, a bad sign for the Democrats as they face a tough vote on whether they will shut the government down or not.

Chuck Schumer leaves the White House in his SUV – does not respond to shouted questions from reporters — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) January 19, 2018

Shutdown fever is gripping the White House as well:

Shutdown fever at the White House as reporters rush @kellyannepolls https://t.co/gKux6n8N2X — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) January 19, 2018

Schumer talked to reporters later as well, signaling that he and the Democrats are still refusing to get to a deal:

SCHUMER on meeting with TRUMP: "We had a long and detailed meeting. We discussed all of the major outstanding issues, we made some progress, but we still have a good number of disagreements. The discussions will continue." — Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) January 19, 2018

Schumer: Progress but no deal yet — Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) January 19, 2018

Also, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)–Hillary Clinton’s running mate in their failed 2016 campaign for the White House–said, per CNN, that “we’re close” to a deal.

UPDATE 2:18 P.M.

KellyAnne Conway says that the only two Republicans in the meeting with Schumer at the White House are Donald Trump and John Kelly.

Just asked Kellyanne Conway who exactly is in the Oval Office meeting now with Trump and Schumer. She said “it’s a very small group.” I asked if there are any Republicans (meaning Hill leaders) and she said “Donald Trump and John Kelly. They are Republicans.” — Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 1:52 P.M.

A White House aide tells Breitbart News senior White House correspondent Charlie Spiering that conservatives should not worry about Trump’s meeting with Schumer one bit. “Conservatives should be reassured that the president is a strong negotiator and committed to conservative principles,” the White House aide tells Spiering.

UPDATE 1:50 P.M.

Trump and Schumer are not in the room together alone. Both of their chiefs of staff are there with them, per Politico’s Eliana Johnson:

Oval Office meeting is with Trump, Schumer, and both of their chiefs. Nobody else. — Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 1:48 P.M.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is under fire in Wisconsin as a vote looms in the Senate for cloture on the government funding bill. If she votes to shut down the government, expect Republicans to seize the opportunity in a state that’s been trending rightward in recent years. Kevin Nicholson, the leading GOP senatorial candidate in Wisconsin, is already hammering Baldwin for even considering voting for a shutdown.

.@tammybaldwin needs to keep her past promises to put the people of Wisconsin first, keep the federal government open, pay our military, and extend CHIP. #shutdowntammy #wisen https://t.co/abYV7qwJ2O — Kevin Nicholson (@KevinMNicholson) January 19, 2018

.@TammyBaldwin in 2015: “ Federal workers, veterans … do their job and we have a responsibility to do ours by keeping the government open for business.” #wisen #shutdowntammy https://t.co/ClAWRUJ1ixhttps://t.co/DD7mkW8lxp — Kevin Nicholson (@KevinMNicholson) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 1:30 P.M.

Schumer’s shutdown ploy is already severely hurting members of his Senate Democratic conference. McCaskill, for instance, is coming under serious fire in Missouri as her likely general election opponent Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley fires away at her refusal to back government funding measures.

With a #SchumerShutdown looming, Missouri is wondering if @clairecmc will get involved – or watch from the sidelines and comment later? She shouldn’t be putting our military, CHIP funding at risk. #mosen — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 1:22 P.M.

President Trump’s campaign, as Trump meets with Schumer, is still bashing Schumer for the looming shutdown.

Trump's campaign just sent this out — just as Trump is about to meet with Schumer to try to cut a deal to avoid a shutdown pic.twitter.com/bXq8Q1JUS4 — Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) January 19, 2018

Also, interesting flashback from ABC’s Jon Karl when Schumer appeared on The Apprentice to praise Trump in 2006.

That time @chuckschumer appeared on the Apprentice and said of @realDonaldTrump "Even when he was much younger you knew that he was gonna go places.” (h/t @chrisdonovan). https://t.co/fjHHfnc8Hi — Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 1:18 P.M.

If Trump agrees to something that does not have support from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), in this meeting with Schumer, he will be betraying a promise he made at the beginning of this process.

Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows told reporters President Trump committed to him that he wouldn't back an immigration bill unless he & Sen Tom Cotton backed it.

Asked about Schumer saying Cotton can't be involved: "I don’t really care what Chuck Schumer says." — Deirdre Walsh (@deirdrekwalsh) January 19, 2018

Meadows notes that Schumer’s opinion is essentially irrelevant.

UPDATE 1:16 P.M.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) again demonstrates his allegiance is to the Democrats as he encourages Trump to cave in the Schumer meeting:

Glad to see @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and Sen. Schumer sitting down and talking. This is welcome news to American people, military, DACA recipients. Let’s see if two New Yorkers can agree on a deal good for USA. I believe – in America – anything is still possible. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 1:15 P.M.

Reports are emerging that Trump and Schumer spoke via phone earlier when Trump invited Schumer to the White House.

Trump/Schumer chat was positive and friendly, per two people briefed. Between 10 and 11 AM. Trump said come on over. — Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 19, 2018

There are worries Trump will cave in the meeting with Schumer.

No Pelosi, no McConnell, no Ryan, no Cotton, no Durbin. Just Trump and Schumer. New York talk. — Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 19, 2018

“Senator, are you worried there are no members of your party in the room with Trump and Senator Schumer right now?” asks stone cold @igorbobic “Yes,” replies Sen. Blunt — Matt Laslo (@MattLaslo) January 19, 2018

Ryan and McConnell are not going to the meeting with Trump and Schumer. — Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 1:01 P.M.

Everything is on the line right now as Trump moves forward on this meeting with Schumer.

Am told that the meeting with the president is supposed to be just @realDonaldTrump and @SenSchumer — a one-on-one between the two of them. — Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

If that holds, such a meeting is likely to cause conservatives to pull their hair out, worrying about what @realDonaldTrump might agree to at this very high-stakes moment for both parties. — Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

Pictures show that @SenSchumer is already in the Oval Office with @realDonaldTrump. (with Marc Short, the president's legislative director, there too.) The balance of this day will be shaped by what happens in the next hour or so. — Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

One big question: Will @realDonaldTrump have Stephen Miller, his hard-line immigration / domestic policy adviser, and his chief of staff, John Kelly, in the Oval with @SenSchumer? They usually bolster POTUS's hard-line tendencies. — Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

Also — with there be more "tough" language in the Oval today? If so, that could derail any deal that might otherwise emerge. — Michael D. Shear (@shearm) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:57 P.M.

President Trump is risking a lot with this Schumer meeting, and House Republicans are very worried they will “get hosed” per a report from Politico’s Jake Sherman.

There is very serious concern rippling through the House Republican Conference that they are about to get hosed by the president and Chuck Schumer. — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:54 P.M.

CNN’s John King reports that Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, is not invited to Schumer’s White House meeting with President Trump that is about to begin.

UPDATE 12:53 P.M.

Back in 2013, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) called senators who voted to shut down the government “dysfunctional deadbeats.”

Now, she faces a choice as the Senate prepares to vote for cloture on the House-passed spending bill, whether she wants to vote for what she considers is a “dysfunctional deadbeat” position as she faces reelection this year.

UPDATE 12:49 P.M.

Schumer has arrived at the White House. It remains to be seen what deal is being discussed if any or if congressional Republicans will join Schumer and Trump in these negotiations.

JUST IN: Schumer has arrived at the White House for talks with President Trump. — Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:43 P.M.

Schumer is on his way to the White House, per media reports:

the Schumer/Trump confab is imminent. meaning, it will happen like now — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 19, 2018

BREAKING: Chuck Schumer headed to White House to talk shutdown, @kasie reports — NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 19, 2018

News – Trump reached out to Schumer and invited him to WH to try to figure out a deal on spending to avert shutdown, per source briefed — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 19, 2018

BREAKING: AP source: Trump phones Senate Dem leader Schumer, invites him to White House to try to reach deal to avert shutdown. — The Associated Press (@AP) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:42 P.M.

An update from House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office, as the Speaker appeared on Fox News to discuss the Schumer Shutdown that looms.

A key quote as highlighted by the Speaker’s office is as follows:

“This is absolutely needless, completely unnecessary, and wholly because of Senate Democrats trying to shut down the government, holding the entire government hostage for a completely unrelated issue that doesn’t have a deadline right now. . . . If we have a government shutdown, that the Democrats insist on, troops don’t get paid, they’re holding our military hostage. Children’s health insurance dries up, seven states run out of money for their children’s health insurance. The Medical Device Tax kicks in so anybody getting a medical procedure that involves a device will pay a whole lot more for that procedure. Those are things that will happen if the Senate Democrats continue to insist on shutting down the government. . . .Senator Schumer said this very tactic, this very strategy a few years ago, was governmental chaos. Nancy Pelosi called it legislative arson. This is exactly what they’re doing and it is completely unnecessary to hold the government hostage for something unrelated. And by way, those DACA negotiations are underway right now. There are good faith bipartisan negotiations underway on DACA right now that have been occurring for some time and that deadline is not until March. So what they’re simply trying to do is hold all of government hostage, our troops, kids’ health insurance, for a completely unrelated issue. I think it’s shameful.”

UPDATE 12:35 P.M.

More from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) interview on MSNBC. He takes the radical leftist worldview, far outside the mainstream and more in line with the Democratic Party, that Stephen Miller is somehow to blame for the Democrats’ intransigence on DACA.

EXCLUSIVE: Sen @LindseyGrahamSC blames White House adviser Stephen Miller for the change in Trump's stance on immigration and DACA, tells @NBCNews Miller's approach to immigration "has no viability." pic.twitter.com/T5AQzvEimc — MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 19, 2018

It’s worth noting that President Trump and House GOP leaders, as well as several GOP senators including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA), support the position that in exchange for a legislative amnesty for DACA recipients there must be an end to chain migration altogether, an end to the visa lottery, and funding for the border wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. That principle is encapsulated in legislation offered by House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX). That bill is supported by House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who intend to hold a House vote on the bill and whip support for it. So, in other words, Graham’s extremist position on immigration is so more in line with the Democrats pushing for a government shutdown if they don’t get their way on amnesty for illegal aliens, even though there is absolutely nothing in the House-passed bipartisan spending bill–which 6 Democrats and 224 Republicans backed–that Democrats oppose.

UPDATE 12:29 P.M.

The Department of Homeland Security said that if a government shutdown happens thanks to Schumer’s and his Senate Democrats’ intransigence, the government is prepared to protect the homeland.

DHS: The dedicated men and women of DHS are fully prepared to protect the homeland and keep Americans safe should a lapse in government funding occur. Nearly ninety percent of all DHS personnel are considered essential staff and will continue to perform their duties — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

Most of DHS personnel–about 90 percent–are considered “essential staff” in the event of a shutdown.

DHS says nearly 90%of all DHS personnel are considered essential staff and will continue to perform their duties in the event of a government shutdown — no update on numbers from @StateDept yet — Kylie Atwood (@kylieatwood) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:25 P.M.

Chuck Schumer is facing serious criticism for previously, back in 2013, saying that it would be “governmental chaos” for doing exactly what he is doing now.

Schumer, in a 2013 interview with George Stephanopoulos, said this:

Speaker [John] Boehner comes in and he says basically… it’s sort of like this: Someone goes into your house, takes your wife and children hostage and then says ‘Let’s negotiate over the price of your house.’ You know we could do the same thing on immigration. We believe strongly in immigration reform. We could say ‘We’re shutting down the government. We’re not going to raise the debt ceiling until you pass immigration reform.’ It would be governmental chaos.

But, as our own John Binder notes in a piece just published on Breitbart News, that is exactly what Schumer is doing right now:

The plan to shut down the federal government unless illegal aliens are given amnesty, though, is now being championed by Schumer and Democrats, who say they want to see the nearly 800,000 illegal aliens shielded from deportation by the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program given amnesty to remain permanently in the U.S. in exchange for their support on a government funding bill. In an expansive amnesty plan that the Republican establishment and Democrats want to see passed, some 3.5 million illegal aliens who are enrolled and eligible for DACA would be granted amnesty, as well as their parents who brought them to the U.S. illegally.

Read the whole piece from Binder here.

UPDATE 12:05 P.M.

Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is blasting the politicians in Washington for their failures here.

.@SenOrrinHatch: "This is the greatest country in the world, but we do have some really stupid people representing it from time to time." pic.twitter.com/HcAQI6VKuS — CSPAN (@cspan) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 12:03 P.M.

On the Senate floor moments ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Senate Democrats would “own” any shutdown “craziness” that happens as a result of their unwillingness to vote for a bipartisan bill that contains nothing they oppose.

UPDATE 12:00 P.M.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) demonstrate their true allegiances with this made-for-MSNBC television moment:

.@DickDurbin just called @LindseyGrahamSC on his cell while Graham was being interviewed live on @MSNBC by @GarrettHaake — Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) January 19, 2018

When Dick Durbin calls in the middle of your interview…. — Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 19, 2018

Meanwhile, Graham is bashing White House aide Stephen Miller–and undercutting President Trump and the Republican Party on this matter.

Just interviews @LindseyGrahamSC – says up to POTUS to decide what he wants in an immigration deal & stick with it. He won’t vote for 30 day CR. Dinged @TomCottonAR as “Steve King of the Senate.” Stay tuned to @MSNBC — Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 19, 2018

“The Stephen Miller approach to immigration has no viability.” — Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 11:56 A.M.

CNN is reporting, citing a government official, that President Trump has canceled his planned trip to Florida this weekend as a government shutdown is looming. Meanwhile, CNN also reports, members of the House of Representatives are being told to stay in Washington for the time being rather than leave as planned for the weekend scheduled recess.

UPDATE 11:51 A.M.

Our senior White House correspondent for Breitbart News Charlie Spiering files this update from Mulvaney’s and Short’s White House briefing room appearance:

“OMB is preparing for what we’re calling a Schumer Shutdown,” OMB Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters at the White House. “It still surprises me and I’ve been through some of these before, that the Democrats in the Senate are opposing a bill that they don’t oppose.” Mulvaney ridiculed reporters during a briefing for suggesting that Republicans would be held accountable for a government shutdown just because they controlled all three branches of the federal government. “I have to laugh when people say that … you know any as well as anybody it takes 60 votes in the senate to pass appropriations bill. You know that,” he said. Mulvaney said that members of the military, the border patrol, wildfire fighters, post office, TSA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the national parks would still go to work, but that they would not be paid, if the government did shut down. He also said that President Donald Trump would continue to work to prevent a shutdown. “There’s no way you can lay this at the feet of the President of the United States; he is actively working to make a deal,” he said.

UPDATE 11:48 A.M.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, is desperately spinning away as her party jeopardizes its midterm election chances with a Schumer Shutdown. She is now claiming that Republicans only want to head to Davos:

Pelosi says House is adjourning to go to Davos. pic.twitter.com/e5R5kgFfNN — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 19, 2018

But last night she accused everyone who voted for the bill of eating dog feces:

NASTY NANCY: Pelosi Compares GOP Debt Deal with EATING DOG FECES

https://t.co/E8zuKqgS7z — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) January 18, 2018

Interestingly, Pelosi–by accusing those who support the House-passed Continuing Resolution that would keep the government open of eating canine fecal matter–is attacking six of her own House Democrats who voted for the legislation.

The six Democrats who joined most Republicans in supporting the bill that passed the House with 230 votes are now under attack by Pelosi:

Updated figure. 6 Hse Dems votes yes on interim spending bill. Dems didn't put up any yeas on the board until the GOPers hit 220. Dem yeas: Costa Carbajal Gonzalez Peterson Gottheimer Cuellar — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 19, 2018

So, Schumer and his Senate Democrat conference face an interesting choice: Stand with bipartisan legislation that passed the House to keep the government open, and their constituents, or stand with special interests in Washington against the voters of their own states.

UPDATE 11:41 A.M.

President Trump is calling out Senate Democrats–particularly Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)–for their hypocrisy on this matter.

“Shutting down the government is a very serious thing. People die, accidents happen. I don’t know how I would vote right now on a CR, OK?”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif)https://t.co/7xP3CBnv5j — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2018

UPDATE 11:40 A.M.

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney and White House official Marc Short addressed the media from the White House briefing room.

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney: "The president is actively working right now to try to prevent a shutdown. I will contend to you that is dramatically different from what President Obama was doing it 2013…It is absolutely my belief that President Obama wanted a shutdown in 2013." pic.twitter.com/Euvxsx85RN — NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 19, 2018

"There's no reason you have to deal with DACA this week," Mick Mulvaney says https://t.co/lCJsliOyLR pic.twitter.com/FHe0iTCTXx — CBS News (@CBSNews) January 19, 2018

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney: "We don't want this. We do not want a shutdown, but if Mr. Schumer insists on it he is in a position to force this on the American people." pic.twitter.com/z8JkPhaydi — NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 19, 2018

In his comments to the press, particularly in an exchange with CNN’s Jim Acosta, Mulvaney made it clear that Schumer and Senate Democrats have the votes to prevent a government shutdown from happening. If the Senate Democrats vote for the House-passed bill, which contains nothing they oppose, they will be able to prevent Schumer’s shutdown.