WASHINGTON – The United States government began a Christmas shutdown earlyon Saturday, after Congress adjourned without passing a federal spendingbill or addressing President Donald Trump’s demand for money to build aborder wall.
Operations for several key agencies ceased at 12:01am on Saturday (5:01GMT), despite last-ditch talks that continued on Capitol Hill between WhiteHouse officials and congressional leaders in both parties.
Trump has dug in on his demand for $5 billion for construction of a wall onthe US border with Mexico.
Democrats are staunchly opposed, and the absence of an elusive deal meansfederal funds for dozens of agencies lapsed when the clock struck midnighton Friday.
The shutdown is the third this year and it remained unclear how long itwould last. Trump expressed hope late Friday night that it “will not lastlong,” after earlier saying he was ready for just that.
The optics are bad, as 800,000 federal employees will be either furloughedor forced to work without pay in the run-up to the Christmas holiday.
But the prospect of a large portion of government workers going withoutpaychecks was not enough to spur lawmakers or the president to action.
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The House of Representatives adjourned just before 7 pm on Friday, with nomoves taken to avert a shutdown, and the Senate closed up shop an hourlater.
Both are due back in session at noon on Saturday.
About three-quarters of the government, including the military and theDepartment of Health and Human Services, is fully funded until the end ofSeptember 2019, leaving 25 percent unfunded as of Saturday.
Most Nasa employees will be sent home, as will Commerce Department workersand many at the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Agriculture andState.
National parks will remain open, but most park staff will stay home. – APP/ AFP
