The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington D.C., the United States, on Dec. 19, 2017. (Xinhua file photo/Yin Bogu)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- A bipartisan group of moderate senators on Sunday worked on a plan to end the federal government shutdown, which started on Saturday, but no deal has been reached before a crucial vote on Monday.
About 20 moderate senators from both Republican and Democratic parties worked out a set of options to extend stopgap funding for the government till Feb. 8, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
Part of the plan would include a commitment to a separate vote on legislation to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was introduced in 2012 to prevent the deportation of minor immigrants.
U.S. President Donald Trump terminated that program in September last year, asking Congress to come up with a legislative replacement until March 5.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer met on Sunday to discuss the plan to reopen the government, but no deal was reached over whether to back the three-week stopgap spending bill and when to hold a vote on the DACA program, according to CNN.
The current government funding expired on Friday midnight as the Senate failed to advance a stopgap spending bill, which had passed the House of Representatives and would fund the government through Feb. 16.
Democrats had hoped that they could use the government spending as leverage to pass an immigration bill, while Republicans and the Trump administration insisted that they would not negotiate on the issue until Democrats give them enough votes to reopen the government.
"The President's position is clear: we will not negotiate on the status of unlawful immigrants, while Sen. Schumer and the Democrats hold the government for millions of Americans and our troops hostage," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Sunday in a statement.
McConnell said Saturday that the Senate will vote on a three-week spending bill at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Monday, unless Democrats agree to hold it sooner. It's unclear whether the bill will gain enough votes to pass the Senate.
If Republicans and Democrats are unable to resolve their differences, the effects of government shutdown will be more visible on Monday, when federal agencies and financial markets open.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney predicted on Sunday that the government shutdown could last more than a week.
"I think Democrats want to see the president give the State of the Union under a shutdown," Mulvaney told "Fox News Sunday". Trump's first State of the Union address is scheduled for Jan. 30.
The last government shutdown, in October, 2013, lasted for 16 days and about 850,000 non-essential federal employees were furloughed.
