The Senate and the House both adjourned Thursday night after pro forma sessions that only lasted a few minutes, continuing the government shutdown through the weekend and leaving nearly 800,000 federal workers without paying jobs. The lawmakers have been promised a 24-hour notice ahead of any congressional action, as many are still away from Washington, D.C., visiting their families for the holidays. The inaction comes after a week of stubbornness from both sides of the aisle: Even while visiting troops abroad, President Trump restated the need for a border wall, but Democrats have insisted that they won’t give him the funding he desires. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) only exacerbated fears of a drawn-out debate Thursday, when he told CNN’s Dana Bash that “things have not progressed.” “At this point it looks like we could be in for a very long-term shutdown,” he said.
Trump’s rhetoric also took a new turn Thursday, when he claimed without evidence that “most of the people not getting paid are Democrats.” Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) rebuked Trump directly on Twitter: “This is outrageous,” he wrote. “Federal employees don’t go to work wearing red or blue jerseys. They’re public servants. And the president is treating them like poker chips at one of his failed casinos.”
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