Talks start as Senate rejects plans to end shutdown

Mitch McConnell leaves the Senate after the bills to end the partial shutdown of government failed. Photo / AP

A splintered US Senate yesterday voted down competing Democratic and Republican plans for ending the 35-day partial government shutdown, but the twin setbacks prompted a burst of bipartisan talks aimed at temporarily halting the longest-ever closure of federal agencies and the damage it's inflicting around the country.

In the first serious exchange in weeks, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly called Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to his office to explore potential next steps for solving the vitriolic stalemate.

Senators from both sides floated a plan to reopen agencies for three weeks and pay hundreds of thousands of beleaguered federal workers while bargainers hunt for a deal.

At the White House, President Donald Trump told reporters he'd support "a reasonable agreement". He suggested he'd also want a "prorated down payment" for his long-sought border wall with Mexico but didn't describe the term. He said he has "other alternatives" for getting wall funding, an apparent reference to his disputed claim that he coulddeclare a national emergency and fund the wall's construction using other programmes in the federal budget.

"At least we're talking about it. That's better than it was before," McConnell told reporters in one of the most encouraging statements since the shutdown began December 23.

Even so, it was unclear whether the flurry would produce results.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose relationship with Trump seems to sour daily, told reporters that a "big" down payment would not be "a reasonable agreement". Asked if she knew how much money Trump meant, Pelosi said, "I don't know if he knows what he's talking about."

Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman said Democrats have made clear "that they will not support funding for the wall, prorated or otherwise".

Contributing to the pressure on lawmakers to find a solution was the harsh reality confronting 800,000 federal workers, who today face a second two-week payday with no pay cheques.

Underscoring the strains, Democratic Senator Michael Bennet angrily said on the Senate floor that Republican Senator Ted Cruz had forced a 2013 shutdown during which "people were killed" in Colorado from flooding and shuttered federal agencies couldn't help local emergency workers.

Moments earlier, Cruz accused Democrats of blocking a separate, doomed bill to pay Coast Guard personnel during this shutdown to score political points, adding later, "Just because you hate somebody doesn't mean you should shut the government down."

Yesterday's votes came after Vice-President Mike Pence lunched privately with GOP senators, who told him they were itching for the standoff to end, participants said. Senator Roy Blunt said their message to Pence was, "Find a way forward."

In an embarrassment to Trump, the Democratic proposal yesterday got two more votes than the GOP plan, even though Republicans control the chamber 53-47. Six Republicans backed the Democratic plan, including freshman Senator Mitt Romney, who's clashed periodically with the President.

The Senate first rejected a Republican plan reopening the government through to September and giving Trump the US$5.7 billion ($8.4b) he's demanded for building segments of that wall, a project that he'd long promised Mexico would finance. The 50-47 vote for the measure fell 10 shy of the 60 votes needed to succeed.

Minutes later, senators voted 52-44 for a Democratic alternative that sought to open padlocked agencies through to February 9 with no wall money. That was eight votes short. It was aimed at giving bargainers time to seek an accord while getting pay cheques to government workers who are either working without pay or being forced to stay home.

- AP