Washington DC 20 Jan 2018 The New York Times/ USA Today
President Trump marked his first year in office Saturday by trying to ride out a government shutdown, as he, Republican allies, and Democrats argued over who to blame for the ongoing impasse.
"This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown," Trump said during a pre-dawn tweet storm.
Much of the federal government officially shut down early Saturday morning after Senate Democrats, showing remarkable solidarity in the face of a clear political danger, blocked consideration of a stopgap spending measure to keep the government operating.
Earlier shutdown was lasted for 16 days in 2013 October.
• The Senate adjourned for the night around 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
• The final roll call, was 50 in favor and 49 against. Sixty votes are needed to end debate and move to a final vote. Five Democrats voted to end debate, while four Republicans voted with most of the Democrats to block the bill.
In the early morning hours, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, proposed a measure that would keep the government open for another three weeks, not four as the House measure would have done, and said the Senate would come back to into session on Saturday at noon.
Minutes before the midnight deadline expired, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, delivered a statement on Twitter blaming Senate Democrats for she called the “Schumer Shutdown.”
Statement by the Press Secretary via Tweet at 08:55 PM - 19 Jan 2018
'Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown. Tonight they put politics above our national interest, military families, vulnerable children, and our country's ability to serve all Americans. We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants where Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands. This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators. When Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders we will reopen negotiations on immigration reform. During this politically manufactured Schumer Shutdown, the President and his administration will fight for and protect the American people.'
If Congress fails to come to an agreement, the government shutdown that officially began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday would continue indefinitely. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed, affecting a wide range of government programs.
Share of Employees Who Would Stay Home
Agency Total Employees Furloughed Share of Employees
Housing & Urban Dev 7,800 7,500 96 % Environmental Protection 14,400 13,700 95 Education 3,900 3,700 95 Commerce 47,900 41,600 87 Labour 15,400 12,800 83 Interior 70,400 56,600 80 Treasury 88,000 48,500 55 Health & Human Services 81,900 41,000 50 Defence (Civilian) 740,000 370,000 50 Transportation 55,200 20,500 37 Justice 114,600 19,500 17 Social Security Admn. 63,200 10,400 16 Homeland Security 241,400 31,200 13 Veterans Affairs 377,000 15,900 4
Note: Current data for the State, Energy and Agriculture Departments were not immediately available.
Source: Agency contingency plans
Critical services that protect 'human life or property' like air traffic control, and programs like the United States Postal Service that have alternate funding sources would continue.
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