The Longest Government Shutdown In U.S. History

A national emergency may be the only end to the record-breaking stalemate [NPR Politics]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Federal workers protest]( Natalie Behring/Getty Images The Big Picture: Longest. Shutdown. Ever. The ongoing government shutdown is now officially the longest in U.S. history. It is in its 22nd day on Saturday and eclipses [the budget showdown in 1995-1996](. Thousands of [federal workers]( missed their first paychecks Friday, museums and [national parks remain closed]( and [agencies that do vital work]( remain largely shuttered. The shutdown has no end in sight, as President Trump has dug in on a border wall with Mexico, and Democrats, feeling buoyed by the 2018 election results and recent polling, are not relenting in their refusal to fund it. Amazingly, the only option for a way out — as plausibly implausible as it sounds — may be [Trump declaring a national emergency]( to try to build the wall with existing funding and then signing legislation to reopen the government. This is the new power dynamic in Washington: Trump at the nadir of his leverage, and Democrats ascendant. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR's lead political editor [Read: The Shutdown That Changed Everything]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [William Barr and Lindsey Graham]( Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images ICYMI: Top Stories Imbroglio update: This week in the Russia investigation: - President Trump’s nominee to become attorney general, William Barr, met with several lawmakers on Capitol Hill [ahead of his confirmation hearings]( next week. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, meanwhile, is expected to depart the Justice Department after Barr is confirmed. - A legal brief filed by lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort inadvertently revealed that [prosecutors suspect Manafort shared 2016 polling data]( to a business associate with ties to Russian intelligence. - Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who attended the infamous Trump Tower meeting in 2016 with several top Trump campaign officials, was [charged with obstruction of justice]( tied to a money laundering case in New York. Trump wall fact check: Can President Trump [use emergency powers]( to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border? He could, but as NPR’s Scott Horsley writes, it would likely face a legal challenge. Trump made his pitch for the wall in a prime-time address this week, and NPR’s reporters [fact-checked several of his claims](. Kamala Harris’ campaign book: If a great book is a sumptuous meal, the campaign book is a bottle of Soylent. As NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben writes, Kamala Harris’ book The Truths We Hold is [less a memoir]( and more a vehicle for telling us what she really wants us to know about her. Gerrymandering in Missouri: In November, Missouri voters approved [a constitutional amendment to reduce gerrymandering]( by changing the way the state draws congressional districts. But as St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum reports, state lawmakers may seek to rewrite the law or nix it altogether. Trump hotel clock keeps ticking: Most government-operated tourist attractions in Washington, D.C., have been closed during the partial government shutdown as Park Service and Smithsonian employees are furloughed. But as NPR’s Peter Overby reports, [one government-owned attraction has remained open]( the clock tower in President Trump’s hotel. Ginsburg to return to SCOTUS: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has [no remaining signs of cancer]( after her surgery last month and will require no additional treatment. NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports Ginsburg will miss oral arguments at the court next week in order to rest, but will return to the bench. — Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer --------------------------------------------------------------- [Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott \]( John Francis Peters for NPR Senior Border Patrol officials, including Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott, are taking up President Trump's call for more miles of border barrier, pushing back against congressional Democrats who say additional fencing is unnecessary. [Follow NPR Politics on Instagram for more photos like this](. [Read the full report on NPR.org]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( You received this message because you're subscribed to our Politics emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]