democratic leader offered $25 billion for physical barriers in his negotiations with the president. five times, five times as much as the white house is reasonably requesting right now. that was just earlier this year. republicans in the house and in the senate believe the house s provision for $5 billion in border funding plus additional disaster funding was completely reasonable. i was glad to vote to advance that legislation yesterday. my colleagues and i are proud to stand with the american people on this subject for the safety of american families and the health and security of our communities. but this time, this time democrats have rejected that reasonable request. they ve refused to meet president trump halfway and provide even one-fifth of the
60 votes in the senate, majority in the house, and president trump s signature. that s what s needed. that s what will end this regrettable episode, reopen the lost portions of the federal government and produce the investment in border security that our nation really needs. so i m glad that productive discussions are continuing at this hour between my friend the democratic leader, the democratic leader in the house, and the white house. when those negotiations produce a solution that is acceptable to all of those parties, it will receive a vote here on the senate floor. you re listening to senate majority leader mitch mcconnell there really challenging the u.s. senate there that it s quite simple, come up with a
fredricka, and the american people understand that. as a reminder, as you heard mitch mcconnell, he gave a challenge to chamber there, get to business. it s still 24 hours, you know, before a vote on a measure that they can even, you know, all agree on. it s ironic because he s the one in charge of the chamber. all right, we ll leave it there. maria, cardona, alice stewart, thanks to both of you. appreciate it. happy holidays. happy holidays. still ahead with the fight against isis still raging on in syria, how will defense secretary jim mattis s resignation and president trump s troop withdrawal impact the entire region? and later, what does this government shutdown mean for the men and women who keep us all safe? right now we re watching lawmakers on capitol hill hopefully working on a compromise. with lush honey, known to replenish and royal jelly and propolis, known to nourish and repair. as a whole blend, it helps heal damage to the ends. blended makes us better. who
wasteful policy. what we do support, democrats and republicans, is real effective border security but not a wall. the wall is president trump s bone to the hard right people. it s no way to spend $5 billion for political bone. i ve heard the president and his allies in the media say democrats don t support border security. nothing could be further from the truth. democrats have always been for smart and effective ways to secure our border. we re pushing for technology like drones and sensors and inspection equipment. every single proposal we made to the president included $1.3 billion for border security. the trump shutdown provides $0 for border security. i have never supported a border wall, and i challenge anyone on the hard right to find a time when i or any expert has
but president trump beholden to the far, far right unwilling to shoulder even the slightest critique from rush limbaugh or laura ingraham changed his mind on the bipartisan senate bill passed unanimously by all republicans and all democrats in this chamber, and he sent his house allies off to tilt at windmills. everyone knew yesterday long before the house vote that the president s wall lacked 60 votes in the senate. it is proven to lack even 50 votes. it will never pass the senate, not today, not next week, not next year. so mr. president, president trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall plain and simple. the senate s not interested in swindling american taxpayers for an unnecessary, ineffective and