Two bills to end the longest ever government shutdown, backed by President Donald Trump and Democrats, failed to pass the U.S. Senate Thursday, and it remains unknown how long the closure will continue.
It occurred amid Trump's repeated vows to veto any spending bill that does not contain the 5.7 billion U.S. dollars he has demanded to fund a wall on the southern border.
As of Thursday, there seemed no clear path forward that would end the dispute and put 800,000 federal workers back to work.
While Trump promised during his 2016 presidential campaign to take action to stem the massive tide of illegal immigration, Democrats view the wall as inhumane and ineffective.
"The budget standoff has lasted so long because both sides are dug in and their bases have diametrically opposed views on how to proceed. Each party is gearing up for the 2020 election and wants to reinforce views on their side," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.
"(Democrats) think it is an ineffective approach to security and very expensive for what little protection it delivers," West said, speaking of Trump's wall.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
It remains unknown whether either side will back down. Some believe the GOP will have to make the first move, while some believe Trump will not want to disappoint his supporters as the 2020 election approaches, and will further dig his heels in.
"The crisis will get resolved when Republicans realize they are losing the public opinion battle and conclude the shutdown is harming their 2020 prospects. They will find a solution when they reach that realization," West said.
Others surmise that the president could declare a national emergency to end the border standoff. That's a legal mechanism that would allow the president to use the military to build the wall.
CNN reported Thursday that the White House is preparing a draft national emergency order, in case the president decides to use that option.
At the same time, however, U.S. media reported Thursday that House Democrats are set to unveil a 5 billion U.S. dollar increase in efforts to secure the border.
The boost would go to the Department of Homeland Security, not for funding a wall. That would be a concession for the president, while allowing Democrats to continue to oppose the wall, said U.S. media.
BORDER CRISIS
Currently, there are millions of illegal immigrants--most from Latin America--in the United States, with droves of illegal migrants pouring over the southern border every week.
Trump claimed there was a "growing humanitarian crisis" on the U.S. border with Mexico in a televised speech on Jan. 8, describing the situation on the southern border as "a crisis of the heart, a crisis of the soul."
"The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: because Democrats will not fund border security," he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer jointly responded to Trump's speech immediately after its conclusion, accusing the president of "manufacturing a crisis" and urging him to reopen the government.
There have been nearly two dozen shutdowns since 1976. The last time the country saw such a lengthy shutdown was from Dec. 5, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996, when then GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich was at loggerheads with former President Bill Clinton over tax issues.
