By Ian Bernstein ’18

The government was forced to shut down early Saturday morning after senators failed to agree on a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded.

Only 50 senators voted in favor of the bill, according to The New York Times. The spending measure failed to earn the 60 votes necessary to bring it to the White House for President Trump’s approval.

Many Senate Democrats voted against the bill as it did not include sufficient protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, according to Quartz.

“Both Republicans and Democrats need to compromise in order to pass a budget bill,” Hallie Spear ’18 said. “But specifically Republicans need to compromise on DACA so a budget can be passed and we can maintain a comprehensive plan for undocumented immigrants.”

Paige Anderson ’18, however, expressed that it’s up to Democrats to make an agreement with Republicans on DACA.  

“I think it’s noble to stand up for what you believe in, like the Democrats and DACA, but sometimes we just need to surrender our pride and create a compromise,” Anderson said.

Following the shut down, Trump cast blame on Senate Democrats on Twitter.

“Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border,” Trump wrote.     

According to The Washington Post, Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders have not reached a resolution as of late Saturday.

Photo used under the Creative Commons License