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Hopes of ending the shutdown were dashed on Thursday, the 34th day of the standoff, when a bill to reopen the government failed in partisan fashion in the Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs, was among the few Republicans who joined Democrats in attempting to advance the measure. "One of the things that I heard very clearly from both sides is, enough already," Murkowski said. "Enough already because that's what the American people are saying about this shutdown. Enough already." Only 52 members of the Senate -- 46 Democrats and Independents, plus 6 Republicans -- voted to advance H.R.268, which funds the BIA, the IHS and other federal agencies. The bill needed 60 votes to move forward. A competing proposal to reopen the government and provide some funds for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico -- the demand that led to the shutdown in the first place -- garnered even less support. The Republican approach, which Trump had offered over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, failed by a vote of 50 to 47, or 10 votes short of the 60 needed. Before the vote, Trump declared on Twitter: "We will not Cave!" Only one Democrat joined Republicans to support the president's proposal.Though the Senate didn't pass any bills today, I'm encouraged that the chamber has held votes to end the #shutdown and I'm hopeful we can quickly move forward from here to get our country back to work.
— Congresswoman Sharice Davids (@RepDavids) January 24, 2019
The failed votes stand in contrast to those in the House of Representatives, where Democrats are in control. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) and Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico), who are the first two Native women in Congress, have repeatedly supported bills to reopen the government. "Though the Senate didn't pass any bills today, I'm encouraged that the chamber has held votes to end the #shutdown and I'm hopeful we can quickly move forward from here to get our country back to work," Davids, who is a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, wrote in a post on Twitter on Thursday. As the Senate was preparing for the votes, Haaland and other Democratic members of the House marched to the chamber in the afternoon to show solidarity with the federal workers who are going without pay. Later in the evening, the Pueblo of Laguna citizen served meals to furloughed government employees at the World Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C. The #ChefsForFeds effort has fed tens of thousands of federal employees and their families since being launched by celebrity chef José Andrés last week. The project has since grown to encompass more than 130 sites in 20 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, though none of the locations so far are in or near Indian Country. With no end in sight to the impasse, the Navajo Nation isn't the only tribal government growing increasingly worried about the shutdown. Chairman Thurlow "Sam" McClellan of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians said his people are slowly running out of money for key services and programs. "People will die because of the shutdown," McClellan said in a statement on Wednesday. "The tribe operates lifesaving, life-enhancing services in conjunction with, and dependent on, the federal government budget," he said. "These vital services are slowly being discontinued and will eventually stop altogether the longer the shutdown continues." Donations for the Navajo Nation food drive can be dropped off at the Office of the President and Vice President in Window Rock, Arizona. For more information, call Sarah L. Woodie-Jackson at (928) 871-7000 or email swoodie-jackson@navajo-nsn.gov.Serving meals to furloughed employees at @chefjoseandres’ @WCKitchen #EndTheShutdown pic.twitter.com/RldzB2U3SC
— Congresswoman Deb Haaland (@RepDebHaaland) January 24, 2019
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