WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A partial U.S. government shutdown was almost certain to drag through the Christmas holiday after the Senate adjourned yesterday without breaking an impasse over President Donald Trump’s demand for more funds for a border wall.
With no deal in sight on a bill to fund the government, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell sent senators home until Thursday. While he said he would call them back if a deal was struck, the decision all but guaranteed a partial shutdown would stretch at least until then. Lawmakers will depart Washing-ton with Trump and Senate Democrats seemingly as entrenched in their positions as ever.
Financing for about a quarter of federal government programs – including the departments of Homeland Security, Justice and Agriculture – expired at midnight on Friday and will not be renewed until a deal is done.
Federal parks were to close and more than 400,000 federal “essential” employees in those agencies will work without pay until the dispute is resolved. Another 380,000 will be “furloughed”, meaning they are put on temporary leave.
Law enforcement efforts, border patrols, mail delivery and airport operations will keep running.
The shutdown caps a perilous week for the president, with Defense Secretary James Mattis resigning in protest at Trump’s sudden decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. The planned withdrawal was widely criticised, even by senior Republicans in Congress.
The political turmoil added to fears about the economy that are plaguing investor sentiment, helping fuel continued heavy losses in the stock market on Friday.
The latest dysfunction in Washington does not bode well for bipartisan cooperation next year, when Democrats will have a stronger hand as they take control of the House of Representatives in January.
Vice President Mike Pence and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney huddled with the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, yesterday afternoon, but they appeared to make little headway toward a deal to re-open the government.
“The vice president came in for a discussion and made an offer. Unfortunately, we’re still very far apart,” a spokesman for Schumer said.
In a joint statement yesterday, Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said that if the shutdown continues past next week, they will pass legislation to re-open the government when Democrats take control of the House on Jan. 3.
