2018-01-21nytimes.com

Congress appeared to make little headway early Sunday toward ending a two-day-old government shutdown, trading blame as lawmakers reconvened for another rare weekend session to try to find a resolution before the workweek began.

With the Senate meeting at 1 p.m. and the House to follow at 2, lawmakers remained mired in partisan disputes. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said he would move ahead with a vote on a temporary spending bill, which would occur by 1 a.m. Monday, unless Democrats allowed it to proceed sooner.

The best hope for a breakthrough appeared to reside with a group of about 20 moderate senators from both parties who met for much of Saturday to try to hammer out a compromise to present to Mr. McConnell and the Democratic leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.

The group was considering various proposals, including one that would keep the government open through early February, provide disaster funding for states ravaged by last year's hurricanes and ensure long-term funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program. It would also include a promise of some sort to hold votes on an immigration deal in the coming weeks.



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