With President Trump and Democrats dug in on their positions regarding the partial government shutdown, pressure is mounting on the GOP-led Senate to find a way to break the impasse.
Until recently, all the attention has been on negotiations between President Trump and Democratic leaders. But Senate Republicans actually have the power to end the government shutdown right now if they were willing to override the president and save a border security fight for another day.
This shutdown, now in its fourth week, is already the longest in history. With each passing day, public opinion on the shutdown sours and GOP senators are starting to lose their resolve, but for now most are standing by Trump.
Reopen without wall funding
Senators calling for reopening at least some of the shutdown portions of government without any border wall funding
Collins
Gardner
Johnson
Murkowski
Temporarily reopen
Senators calling for reopening the government for a short period while Congress debates border wall funding
Alexander
Graham
DACA deal with Democrats
Senators calling for a deal protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children
Grassley
Moran
Portman
Scott
Tillis
Toomey
At least three senators, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Cory Gardner (Colo.), have called on Trump to reopen the shuttered federal agencies without the $5.7 billion in funding he wants for his border wall. Collins and Gardner are both up for reelection in 2020 in purplish-blue states.
Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) floated an idea to pay essential employees who are working during the shutdown, which would keep many agencies mostly closed while talks continue.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress, pushed an idea to reopen the government for three weeks and use that time to debate and vote on border security legislation, but Trump shot it down.
Despite the increasing desire to end this shutdown, few Senate Republicans have actually suggested a way out of this one. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to bring up a bill to reopen the government without assurances from the White House that Trump would sign it.
Several groups of Republicans may be under pressure to resolve the shutdown quickly.
Senators up for reelection or retiring in 2020
Collins
Gardner
Alexander
Graham
Tillis
Capito
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cotton
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
McConnell
McSally
Perdue
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Sasse
Sullivan
Note: Alexander and Roberts have already announced that they won’t seek re-election.
Several GOP senators face competitive races in 2020 in states that are considered battleground territory in a presidential election year. Collins and Gardner are already on the record calling for the government to reopen. The pressure on the others, Sens. Martha McSally of Arizona, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Joni Ernst of Iowa, will only intensify as the shutdown continues.
But Republicans up for reelection in conservative states will be worried about bucking the president and inviting a primary challenge from their right.
11 GOP senators closest to the political center
Collins
Murkowski
Alexander
Grassley
Portman
Capito
Cramer
Hoeven
McSally
Rounds
Wicker
These are the Senate Republicans with the most moderate voting records, according to the DW-Nominate index, which scores a lawmaker’s voting record between most liberal to most conservative. Scores for some freshmen senators are based on their record in the U.S. House, but insufficient data exist for the others.
It’s little surprise that Collins and Murkowski, the GOP caucus’s most moderate members, are also the ones calling for an end to the shutdown. During the 16-day shutdown in 2013, Collins was credited with leading the effort to end it.
Meanwhile, Sens. Alexander and Portman have joined a bipartisan group of senators working to devise a deal to reopen the government. Alexander is not running for reelection and has already signaled a desire to reopen the government without wall funding, at least temporarily.
Senators from states with large share of affected workers
Gardner
Murkowski
Barrasso
Blunt
Capito
Cramer
Crapo
Daines
Enzi
Hawley
Hoeven
Inhofe
Lankford
Lee
McSally
Risch
Romney
Rounds
Sullivan
Thune
As the shutdown drags on, the roughly 800,000 federal employees not currently being paid will likely increase pressure to reopen the government. A Post analysis found that those federal employees work not just in the D.C. area but in all 50 states. As a share of all workers, federal employees affected by the shutdown are as common in Montana and Alaska as they are in Maryland.
Senators from these states, with at least 450 affected federal workers per 100,000 total workers, will likely hear more heartbreaking stories from working constituents who can’t pay their bills. Still, most Republican senators are sticking by the White House for now. They maintain that border security is a worthy cause.
We’ll be tracking Senate Republicans’ positions on the shutdown below. See something we missed? Let us know!
Where every senator stands
Reopen without wall funding 4
Temporarily reopen 2
DACA deal with Democrats 6
Other/unclear 41
Senators calling for reopening at least some of the shutdown portions of government without any border wall funding
Senators calling for reopening the government for a short period while Congress debates border wall funding
Senators calling for a deal protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children
Senators who are holding out for border wall funding, and those who have not made clear where they stand
“I’m not saying [Democrats’] whole plan is a valid plan, but I see no reason why the bills that are ready to go and on which we’ve achieved an agreement should be held hostage to this debate over border security,” Collins told The Post. Read more »
“I think we should pass a continuing resolution to get the government back open,” Gardner said on Jan. 3. “The Senate has done it last Congress, we should do it again today ... We can pass legislation that has the appropriations number in it while we continue to get more but we should continue to do our jobs and get the government open and let Democrats explain why they no longer support border security.” Read more »
Johnson explained his plan to pay essential workers who are working during the shutdown on Fox News on Jan. 14. “It's only fair,” he said. “Washington, D.C. is dysfunctional enough and it is just true — we have essential personnel in these government agencies, we require them to work, the least we can do is pay them.” Read more »
“We don't need to hold up these six other departments at the same time that we are resolving these very important security issues,” Murkowski told an NBC News reporter on Jan. 8. Read more »
“[Trump] has made a specific, formal request for funding. Our job is to consider it, hold a hearing, and while we’re doing that we should reopen the government,” Alexander said on Jan. 11, according to a press release. Read more »
"I would urge him to open up the government for a short period of time, like three weeks, before he pulls the plug," Graham said on Fox News Sunday. Read more »
"It shouldn’t be so hard to find compromise. But obviously, people are stressed out on it and stretched out on it,” Grassley said. “People are dug in and, of course, we’ve got a president that Democrats don’t like.” Read more »
In a Jan. 11 press release, Moran said he and Portman have introduced legislation to protect the DACA population and provide money for border security, including new physical barriers. “This bill returns to the basics of what a majority of my colleagues and the president support — providing the necessary resources to strengthen and modernize border security in addition to long-term certainty to DACA recipients,” he said. Read more »
Portman introduced legislation with Moran to protect the DACA population and provide money for border security, including new physical barriers. “I believe we have a responsibility to resolve this issue, and this legislation is a fair and responsible solution that could get the necessary votes to become law,” he said. Read more »
Scott told Fox News that a negotiation could involve a DACA fix and changes to visas as well as border security. He said that a national emergency was not the best option to secure the border. Read more »
In a Jan. 4 op-ed for the Hill, Tillis suggested an immigration compromise was possible. “We can end the shutdown, secure the border, and take a major step forward on immigration reform by providing long-term certainty to the DACA population,” he wrote. Read more »
Calling the shutdown “maddeningly frustrating,” Toomey told a Pennsylvania newspaper on Jan. 11 that he “would be open to something on DACA as part of this mix.” Read more »
The message Barrasso heard at local GOP events in Wyoming was “build the wall, build the wall, build the wall,” he told The Post. “They also would like to see the government open, but not at the expense of not accomplishing what the president has promoted.” Read more »
“Our border patrol agents tell us they need three things to secure the sovereignty of this nation: a wall, technology, and more agents on the ground. We need to give them the tools they need to keep our country safe,” Blackburn tweeted on Jan. 13. Read more »
“Not only does the government need to function, but this is just an issue we need to solve. ... And no president has ever had the credibility that this president will have if he says to the American people, I have met my commitment, the border is secure,” Blunt said Jan. 9 on the Senate floor. Read more »
“I will continue working with the president and my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to find a solution,” Boozman said in a statement on Jan. 14. “Federal employees should never be in the unfortunate position where they worry when they will receive their paycheck.” Read more »
“I’m thinking we've got weeks to go, not months” Braun told CBS News in a podcast published on Jan. 11. “Surely we will come together, give minimum border security to the president and to those of us who believe it needs to be done, and we get the government back going and get talking on some of the other issues." Read more »
“I think certainly I have expressed more than a few times the frustrations with a government shutdown and how useless it is,” Capito said on Jan. 8. “That pressure is going to build.” Read more »
“There absolutely can be common ground if people just step back,” Cassidy told a Louisiana TV station in early January. Cassidy has floated an idea to use asset forfeiture funds to pay for the initial cost of the wall, though Justice Department officials are “fiercely against” doing this, according to ABC News. Read more »
“We are not going to fold, we are on the right side of this argument,” Cornyn told Fox News. The Texas senator, who is up for re-election in 2020, told The Post, “I think Republican primary voters are with the president.” Read more »
“I wish the government wasn’t shut down, I’d like to see it reopen but at the same time I would like to make sure that our border is secure,” Cotton told a Little Rock news station. Read more »
“A vast majority of North Dakotans want the wall,” Cramer told the West Central Tribune. Read more »
“This is going to require compromise on all sides,” Crapo told the Idaho State Journal. Read more »
“This is now the second Schumer shutdown in a year. He forced one earlier because he wanted to see amnesty. He forced the second one because he wants to see open borders,” Cruz told Fox News. Read more »
“I just finished watching @POTUS address the nation and I couldn't agree more,” Daines tweeted. “We MUST secure our southern border. I stand with our border patrol agents, which is why I’ve asked that my pay be withheld until we we reach a deal.” Read more »
Enzi, the Budget Committee chairman, was part of a group that introduced a bill to prevent future government shutdowns by automatically renewing existing funding if no new funding bill is passed. “A government shutdown disrupts lives both inside and outside the government,” he said in a Jan. 11 statement. Read more »
“Make no mistake: we have a humanitarian crisis as a result of the 60,000 illegal and inadmissible immigrants a month on the southern border. Democrats in Washington, D.C. are playing games with the safety and security of each and every town in America,” Ernst said in a Jan. 8 press release. Read more »
“Until they come out and start being able to talk and being able to negotiate, this is where we’re at,” Fischer said. Read more »
On Jan. 8, Hawley tweeted: “.@chuckschumer & @SpeakerPelosi say wall is immoral. But Dems have supported barriers at border in the past. Why the change now? Sounds like partisan politics to me. When did liberals start caring more about protecting illegals than protecting American workers?" Read more »
“There’s a number of ideas we are working on and I hope one of them clicks,” Hoeven said in a radio interview on Jan. 16. Read more »
On Jan. 8, Inhofe tweeted: “I’m proud to stand strong with President @realDonaldTrump to secure our southern border. #SecureOurBorder.” Read more »
In response to McConnell’s refusal to bring up a bill that Trump wouldn’t sign, Isakson warned that Republican senators might not be on board indefinitely, according to CNN. “There's a time when [support for McConnell’s strategy] may run out. But right now that doesn't run out,” Isakson said. Read more »
“Let’s do border security,” Lankford said on the Senate floor on Jan. 10. “Let’s not fight over ‘Okay, let’s open the government up, and then we’ll talk about it later.’ Everyone knows that really won’t happen.” Read more »
“Let’s come together, give the Department of Homeland Security the money they need to address this crisis, and end the shutdown,” Lee said in a Jan. 8 tweet. Read more »
McConnell brought up a funding bill in December to keep the government running until Feb. 8, but Trump bowed to pressure from his base, leading to the partial shutdown. Now the Senate majority leader says he will not bring up a bill that Trump won’t sign. “The last thing we need to do right now is to trade absolutely pointless show votes back and forth across the aisle,” he said on the floor. Read more »
“I think it’s time for the Senate right now to put forward and put pressure on both parties to try to get this concluded,” Perdue said in a Jan. 9 interview with Bloomberg. Read more »
“The way that you handle these is you sit down in good faith and negotiate and reach some middle ground that everybody can stand on,” Risch told the Times-News. “Each party needs an exit ramp that lets them save face and get something that they want. If people sit down and talk, that is usually doable.” Read more »
Roberts, who presided over a deserted Senate chamber on Dec. 24, said to reporters: “This is my fifth shutdown. I’m beyond frustrated.” Read more »
"The right approach is for there to be some kind of deal that can be done where both sides get something that they feel is important," Romney told KSL Newsradio. The senator has also said he does not support a national emergency declaration from Trump. Read more »
Rounds told The Post he was “not really” facing an influx of calls from angry constituents demanding the government function again. He told NPR that a solution is needed to address both border funding and reopening the government. "You can't do one without the other. There's got to be a compromise that allows both sides to move forward and feel like they came out with somewhat of a victory,” he said. Read more »
Rubio expressed skepticism in a Fox News interview about associating a DACA deal with a bill to end the shutdown. “It is something I would like for us to fix. I'm not sure that we should do something that important — it's an intricate issue — as part of a broader deal just to get government reopened.” Read more »
In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Scott said, “I think the right thing to do, is Congress ought to sit down with the president and they ought to come to an agreement.” Read more »
Shelby, who chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations committee, told CBS News that negotiations were at “an impasse” in late December. “Nobody wins in a shutdown,” he said. “We all lose and we kind of look silly.” Read more »
“I want to make it very clear: I support the president in his efforts and in his administration’s efforts to secure our border,” Sullivan said in a speech to Alaskans on Jan. 9. Read more »
A member of Senate leadership, Thune told a South Dakota television station that “both sides have to give a little bit and from what I have seen, the president has demonstrated his flexibility on this issue. I have not seen any of that from Democrats.” Read more »
In a tweet, Wicker applauded Trump’s restraint on declaring a national emergency. “Congress must secure the border. Declaring a national emergency would have let the Democrats off the hook, caused a long court battle and set a bad precedent.” Read more »
Young told an Indiana news program: "What I’m focused on is making sure exactly what the president is trying to make sure of and that’s we secure that border in conjunction with opening the government as quickly as possible." Read more »
Reopen without wall funding 4
Temporarily reopen 2
DACA deal with Democrats 6
Other/unclear 41
Reopen without wall funding 4
Senators calling for reopening at least some of the shutdown portions of government without any border wall funding
“I’m not saying [Democrats’] whole plan is a valid plan, but I see no reason why the bills that are ready to go and on which we’ve achieved an agreement should be held hostage to this debate over border security,” Collins told The Post. Read more »
“I think we should pass a continuing resolution to get the government back open,” Gardner said on Jan. 3. “The Senate has done it last Congress, we should do it again today ... We can pass legislation that has the appropriations number in it while we continue to get more but we should continue to do our jobs and get the government open and let Democrats explain why they no longer support border security.” Read more »
Johnson explained his plan to pay essential workers who are working during the shutdown on Fox News on Jan. 14. “It's only fair,” he said. “Washington, D.C. is dysfunctional enough and it is just true — we have essential personnel in these government agencies, we require them to work, the least we can do is pay them.” Read more »
“We don't need to hold up these six other departments at the same time that we are resolving these very important security issues,” Murkowski told an NBC News reporter on Jan. 8. Read more »
Temporarily reopen 2
Senators calling for reopening the government for a short period while Congress debates border wall funding
“[Trump] has made a specific, formal request for funding. Our job is to consider it, hold a hearing, and while we’re doing that we should reopen the government,” Alexander said on Jan. 11, according to a press release. Read more »
"I would urge him to open up the government for a short period of time, like three weeks, before he pulls the plug," Graham said on Fox News Sunday. Read more »
DACA deal with Democrats 6
Senators calling for a deal protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children
"It shouldn’t be so hard to find compromise. But obviously, people are stressed out on it and stretched out on it,” Grassley said. “People are dug in and, of course, we’ve got a president that Democrats don’t like.” Read more »
In a Jan. 11 press release, Moran said he and Portman have introduced legislation to protect the DACA population and provide money for border security, including new physical barriers. “This bill returns to the basics of what a majority of my colleagues and the president support — providing the necessary resources to strengthen and modernize border security in addition to long-term certainty to DACA recipients,” he said. Read more »
Portman introduced legislation with Moran to protect the DACA population and provide money for border security, including new physical barriers. “I believe we have a responsibility to resolve this issue, and this legislation is a fair and responsible solution that could get the necessary votes to become law,” he said. Read more »
Scott told Fox News that a negotiation could involve a DACA fix and changes to visas as well as border security. He said that a national emergency was not the best option to secure the border. Read more »
In a Jan. 4 op-ed for the Hill, Tillis suggested an immigration compromise was possible. “We can end the shutdown, secure the border, and take a major step forward on immigration reform by providing long-term certainty to the DACA population,” he wrote. Read more »
Calling the shutdown “maddeningly frustrating,” Toomey told a Pennsylvania newspaper on Jan. 11 that he “would be open to something on DACA as part of this mix.” Read more »
Other/unclear 41
Senators who are holding out for border wall funding, and those who have not made clear where they stand
The message Barrasso heard at local GOP events in Wyoming was “build the wall, build the wall, build the wall,” he told The Post. “They also would like to see the government open, but not at the expense of not accomplishing what the president has promoted.” Read more »
“Our border patrol agents tell us they need three things to secure the sovereignty of this nation: a wall, technology, and more agents on the ground. We need to give them the tools they need to keep our country safe,” Blackburn tweeted on Jan. 13. Read more »
“Not only does the government need to function, but this is just an issue we need to solve. ... And no president has ever had the credibility that this president will have if he says to the American people, I have met my commitment, the border is secure,” Blunt said Jan. 9 on the Senate floor. Read more »
“I will continue working with the president and my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to find a solution,” Boozman said in a statement on Jan. 14. “Federal employees should never be in the unfortunate position where they worry when they will receive their paycheck.” Read more »
“I’m thinking we've got weeks to go, not months” Braun told CBS News in a podcast published on Jan. 11. “Surely we will come together, give minimum border security to the president and to those of us who believe it needs to be done, and we get the government back going and get talking on some of the other issues." Read more »
“I think certainly I have expressed more than a few times the frustrations with a government shutdown and how useless it is,” Capito said on Jan. 8. “That pressure is going to build.” Read more »
“There absolutely can be common ground if people just step back,” Cassidy told a Louisiana TV station in early January. Cassidy has floated an idea to use asset forfeiture funds to pay for the initial cost of the wall, though Justice Department officials are “fiercely against” doing this, according to ABC News. Read more »
“We are not going to fold, we are on the right side of this argument,” Cornyn told Fox News. The Texas senator, who is up for re-election in 2020, told The Post, “I think Republican primary voters are with the president.” Read more »
“I wish the government wasn’t shut down, I’d like to see it reopen but at the same time I would like to make sure that our border is secure,” Cotton told a Little Rock news station. Read more »
“A vast majority of North Dakotans want the wall,” Cramer told the West Central Tribune. Read more »
“This is going to require compromise on all sides,” Crapo told the Idaho State Journal. Read more »
“This is now the second Schumer shutdown in a year. He forced one earlier because he wanted to see amnesty. He forced the second one because he wants to see open borders,” Cruz told Fox News. Read more »
“I just finished watching @POTUS address the nation and I couldn't agree more,” Daines tweeted. “We MUST secure our southern border. I stand with our border patrol agents, which is why I’ve asked that my pay be withheld until we we reach a deal.” Read more »
Enzi, the Budget Committee chairman, was part of a group that introduced a bill to prevent future government shutdowns by automatically renewing existing funding if no new funding bill is passed. “A government shutdown disrupts lives both inside and outside the government,” he said in a Jan. 11 statement. Read more »
“Make no mistake: we have a humanitarian crisis as a result of the 60,000 illegal and inadmissible immigrants a month on the southern border. Democrats in Washington, D.C. are playing games with the safety and security of each and every town in America,” Ernst said in a Jan. 8 press release. Read more »
“Until they come out and start being able to talk and being able to negotiate, this is where we’re at,” Fischer said. Read more »
On Jan. 8, Hawley tweeted: “.@chuckschumer & @SpeakerPelosi say wall is immoral. But Dems have supported barriers at border in the past. Why the change now? Sounds like partisan politics to me. When did liberals start caring more about protecting illegals than protecting American workers?" Read more »
“There’s a number of ideas we are working on and I hope one of them clicks,” Hoeven said in a radio interview on Jan. 16. Read more »
On Jan. 8, Inhofe tweeted: “I’m proud to stand strong with President @realDonaldTrump to secure our southern border. #SecureOurBorder.” Read more »
In response to McConnell’s refusal to bring up a bill that Trump wouldn’t sign, Isakson warned that Republican senators might not be on board indefinitely, according to CNN. “There's a time when [support for McConnell’s strategy] may run out. But right now that doesn't run out,” Isakson said. Read more »
“Let’s do border security,” Lankford said on the Senate floor on Jan. 10. “Let’s not fight over ‘Okay, let’s open the government up, and then we’ll talk about it later.’ Everyone knows that really won’t happen.” Read more »
“Let’s come together, give the Department of Homeland Security the money they need to address this crisis, and end the shutdown,” Lee said in a Jan. 8 tweet. Read more »
McConnell brought up a funding bill in December to keep the government running until Feb. 8, but Trump bowed to pressure from his base, leading to the partial shutdown. Now the Senate majority leader says he will not bring up a bill that Trump won’t sign. “The last thing we need to do right now is to trade absolutely pointless show votes back and forth across the aisle,” he said on the floor. Read more »
“I think it’s time for the Senate right now to put forward and put pressure on both parties to try to get this concluded,” Perdue said in a Jan. 9 interview with Bloomberg. Read more »
“The way that you handle these is you sit down in good faith and negotiate and reach some middle ground that everybody can stand on,” Risch told the Times-News. “Each party needs an exit ramp that lets them save face and get something that they want. If people sit down and talk, that is usually doable.” Read more »
Roberts, who presided over a deserted Senate chamber on Dec. 24, said to reporters: “This is my fifth shutdown. I’m beyond frustrated.” Read more »
"The right approach is for there to be some kind of deal that can be done where both sides get something that they feel is important," Romney told KSL Newsradio. The senator has also said he does not support a national emergency declaration from Trump. Read more »
Rounds told The Post he was “not really” facing an influx of calls from angry constituents demanding the government function again. He told NPR that a solution is needed to address both border funding and reopening the government. "You can't do one without the other. There's got to be a compromise that allows both sides to move forward and feel like they came out with somewhat of a victory,” he said. Read more »
Rubio expressed skepticism in a Fox News interview about associating a DACA deal with a bill to end the shutdown. “It is something I would like for us to fix. I'm not sure that we should do something that important — it's an intricate issue — as part of a broader deal just to get government reopened.” Read more »
In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Scott said, “I think the right thing to do, is Congress ought to sit down with the president and they ought to come to an agreement.” Read more »
Shelby, who chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations committee, told CBS News that negotiations were at “an impasse” in late December. “Nobody wins in a shutdown,” he said. “We all lose and we kind of look silly.” Read more »
“I want to make it very clear: I support the president in his efforts and in his administration’s efforts to secure our border,” Sullivan said in a speech to Alaskans on Jan. 9. Read more »
A member of Senate leadership, Thune told a South Dakota television station that “both sides have to give a little bit and from what I have seen, the president has demonstrated his flexibility on this issue. I have not seen any of that from Democrats.” Read more »
In a tweet, Wicker applauded Trump’s restraint on declaring a national emergency. “Congress must secure the border. Declaring a national emergency would have let the Democrats off the hook, caused a long court battle and set a bad precedent.” Read more »
Young told an Indiana news program: "What I’m focused on is making sure exactly what the president is trying to make sure of and that’s we secure that border in conjunction with opening the government as quickly as possible." Read more »
Reuben Fischer-Baum contributed to this report.
About this story
Stances on the bill are sourced from lawmaker statements and news reports. Did we miss something? Let us know!
Legislator images via Government Printing Office.
Originally published Jan. 15, 2019.
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