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Trump 1st Anniversary as President Marked by Shutdown of His Government

By
M Ashraf Siddiqui
20/01/2018
in

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.'

What Will Happen if the Government Remains Shut Down

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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