But on Thursday House Democrats threatened to block legislation that would prevent a shutdown if Republicans scheduled a vote on their healthcare bill over the next few days. House Republicans scrambled on Thursday to shore up enough votes for their new replacement plan. The White House had threatened to withhold the payments as a bargaining chip to try to extract funding for a border wall. Republicans, despite controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, need Democratic votes to pass an omnibus spending bill. And on Wednesday, the White House said that it would continue to make payments for a critical component of the Affordable Care Act.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2017 19:57 UTC