No Script

Please Wait...

Ramadan Kareem...

US Gov’t Shuts Down, White House Blames Dems

US Gov’t Shuts Down, White House Blames Dems
folder_openAmericas... access_time6 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

The US government went into shutdown mode on Saturday after senators failed to pass a stopgap motion before the midnight deadline that would have extended funding through February 16.

US Gov’t Shuts Down, White House Blames Dems

Funding has ceased for many federal agencies, forcing hundreds of thousands of staffers to take a leave of absence. National parks and monuments will also be closed to the public, but essential services will reportedly be allowed to run.

The White House has been quick to blame the Democratic Party for the shutdown, slamming them as "obstructionist losers, not legislators."

"We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands," the press secretary said in a statement after the funding legislation failed to get the 60 votes needed to avoid shutdown.

Commenting on the prospects of negotiations with the Democratic Party, the White House stated that the talks on the immigration reform would start "when Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders."

The deadline to unlock short-term funding expired on Friday midnight. A last-ditch effort to squeeze the spending bill through Congress was blocked after the Senate voted 50-49 for limiting the debate, which fell 10 votes short of the goal.

Prior to the vote, Trump tweeted, "Not looking good" and accused Democrats who, according to him, wanted the shutdown "to help diminish the success" of the GOP-drafted tax bill.

In their turn, Democrats, who wanted to reach a deal on the Obama-era DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] program in order to protect so-called "dreamers," migrants, who have been brought to the US as children.

The short-term spending bill was set to keep US government open through February 16, while prolonging the Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP] for six years. However, it didn't not contain a solution for undocumented immigrants brought to the US as small children.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments