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By AFP
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The US government will begin closing at Christmas at midnight, as Congress adjourns Friday without adopting a federal spending bill or responding to President Donald Trump 's funding request for construction of new buildings. a border wall.
Operations for several key agencies will end Saturday at 00:01, despite last-minute talks at Capitol Hill between White House officials and congressional leaders from both sides.
Trump has sought $ 5 billion for the construction of a US border wall with Mexico. Democrats are strongly opposed and the absence of an elusive agreement means that federal funding for dozens of agencies will expire at 12 pm.
It is still unclear how long the closure will last, but Trump expressed hope on Friday night that this "will not last long" after declaring earlier that he was ready for that.
The optics are bad because 800,000 federal employees will either be forced to work or forced to work without pay in the run-up to the Christmas holidays.
But the prospect of a large portion of government employees without pay is insufficient to entice lawmakers or the president to move on to action.
The House of Representatives suspended its work shortly before 19:00 (23:00 GMT) on Friday, no action was taken to avoid a shutdown, and the Senate closed its doors an hour later.
Both are expected for Saturday noon.
About three-quarters of the government, including the military and the Ministry of Health and Human Services, are fully funded until the end of September 2019, leaving 25% unfunded to the date of Saturday.
Most NASA employees will be sent home, as well as those from the Department of Commerce and many departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Agriculture and the State.
National parks will remain open, but most employees will stay at home.
While the most critical security functions will be operational, the quarrels and budget uncertainties have wreaked havoc in the capital, which is also thwarted by the announcement of the resignation made Thursday by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Wall Street ended its worst week of the decade with more deadly losses on Friday.
And Washington's inability to accomplish one of its most basic tasks – keeping the government in place – has created a deep discomfort and anxiety.
"It's up to the Democrats to decide whether or not to shut down tonight," Trump said earlier on Friday, accusing political opponents of the crisis.
"I hope we will not do it," added the president, but "we are fully prepared for a very long stop."
Senators told reporters that congressional leaders from both parties were negotiating behind-the-scenes with White House officials, including Trump's son-in-law Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, and new chief of staff Mick Mulvaney .
The trio of power has shuttled back and forth from the Capitol, seeking a breakthrough with Republicans and Democrats.
He did not come Friday.
If they reach an agreement, Congress and Republican Chair Bob Corker could quickly clear Congress.
"Republicans and Democrats are now both owners of the success or failure of government funding."
The talks included $ 1.6 billion in funding for border security under legislation pending before the Senate, Republican Number Two Senator John Cornyn told AFP.
But the Conservatives in the House would probably be hesitant about that number.
"There is no agreement," MP Mark Meadows, chair of the caucus of the House of the Ultra-Conservative Liberals, told reporters as he was leaving an in camera meeting. on the side of the Capitol Senate.
"There are many numbers circulating", but a maximum of $ 1.6 billion for border security "is not acceptable".
Cornyn suggested that the art of the agreement was not about acquired rights but rather a logical compromise to break the stalemate.
"The House is five (billions of dollars for border security), the Democrats are at zero," he said. "It does not seem to be rocket science to come up with a figure."
Trump reversed the situation on Thursday and rejected a measure that was pbaded unanimously by the Senate and was before the House.
He reportedly extended government funding until February 8, but did not contain money for a border wall, a pet project for which Trump has been fighting since his presidential campaign .
The Democrats described Trump as the Grinch who stole the end-of-year deal.
"This #shutdown is brought to you by @POTUS & @HouseGOP," tweeted MP Kathleen Rice. "Instead of pbading the Senate financing bill, they decided to hold this country hostage."
With lawmakers like Meadows and eminent conservative commentators demanding that the president keep his campaign promises, Trump has collapsed on his wall.
The House quickly pbaded a bill that meets the requirements of the Speaker. It included $ 5.7 billion and $ 7.8 billion in disaster relief.
But he stalled from the first hurdle in the Senate.
Trump was due to travel to Florida on Friday for his Christmas break, but he postponed the trip to save an agreement.
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