WASHINGTON: A last-ditch battle to avert a looming US government shutdown moved to the Senate on Friday, where Democrats angered by the collapse of immigration talks have vowed to block a stop-gap funding bill.

With the federal government set to run out of money on Friday at midnight — the eve of the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration — the bill cleared the House with a 230-197 vote.

But prospects appeared gloomy in the Senate, where Democrats eager for leverage on budget and immigration deals were intent on shooting it down.

“Government Funding Bill past (sic) last night in the House of Represen­tatives. Now Democrats are needed if it is to pass in the Senate — but they want illegal immigration and weak borders. Shutdown coming? We need more Republican victories in 2018!” Trump tweeted Friday morning.

Democrat Senate Mino­rity Leader Chuck Schumer said that if agreement is not reached by Friday night, there should be an even shorter-term funding measure that would “give the president a few days to come to the table.”

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2018