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Funding from a large number of federal agencies expired at midnight after Congress and the White House failed to get a package of spending in the middle of a period. deadly battle for the financing of the border wall.
The missed deadline means nine of the fifteen ministries and dozens of agency ministries will close at the start of the Christmas holidays. But this does not mean that the entire federal government is affected: only about a quarter of the government is closing.
The Senate planned to meet again Saturday at noon to continue the talks.
fund part of the government or risk partial closure. But although negotiations are continuing, legislators left the Capitol on Friday without an agreement to fund the government before midnight.
In recent weeks, Republicans and Democrats have stalled over the president's request to pay $ 5 billion. "It's our only chance we can have, in our opinion, because of the world and the way it's happening, great security at the border," President Trump said Friday. The Democrats will take control of the House on January 3 and will oppose significant funding for the construction of walls.
"This is our only chance we can have, in our opinion, because of the world and the way it breaks.
Much of Friday's tragedy took place Place in the Senate: After maintaining the open vote for five hours to obtain sufficient support, the Senate finally advanced a resolution approved by the House.The expense costs $ 5.7 billion for a border wall, after the vice President Mike Pence went to the Capitol to break a tie
Vice President Mike Pence, second from left, with White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and new White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, gone for the night without a bill that would pay the wall of President Trump's border. and avoid a partial government shutdown at Capitol Hill on Friday, December 21, 2018 in Washington. (Associated Press)
This procedural obstacle opens the way for a future final vote in the Senate.
But with a threshold of 60 votes, the package voted by the House is unlikely to be approved by the Senate.
Republicans, who will soon lose control of the House, see the fight against spending as their last chance to get funding for the long-promised border wall by Trump. Democrats have called the wall useless, expensive and offensive.
Earlier in the week, the Senate passed a bill funding other agencies at current levels until February 8. But the president said that he would not sign this bill because he was not there. t include new funding for the wall.
After the White House initially expressed its willingness to consider such a short-term trade-off, Trump faced growing pressure from immigration-minded Conservatives to secure its $ 5 billion demand. dollars to finance a border wall. . The wall was actually a signature campaign promise.
The House then approved $ 5.7 billion for the construction of a border wall as part of a measure to fund the government in early February.
Both parties blamed each other. While Schumer and minority House of Representatives leader Nancy Pelosi have already described the result as a "Trump closure," the president tweeted on Twitter on Friday, saying "it will be a Democratic closure!" they do not support the financing of the border wall.
Congress may have time to reach an agreement before actually touching some workers: since the partial closure of the government occurs during the Christmas holidays, some of them did not consider to work whatever it is, in the next four days.
According to a precedent created under the Reagan administration, federal employees may be exempted from permissions if their work is related to national security or performs essential activities that "protect life and property".
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of the R-Ky. Returns to Capitol Hill After Returning to the White House to Avoid a Partial Closure of the government. h President Trump seeks funding for a wall along the US-Mexico border at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC on Friday, December 21, 2018. (Associated Press)
The ministerial departments that are closing are agriculture, trade, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, justice, state, transport and treasure.
However, essential staff must work without pay. Almost 90% of Homeland Security's staff is considered essential.
The US Postal Service (USPS) will remain open as usual at a partial closure of the government as it is "an independent entity funded by the sale of our products and services. , not taxes, "a spokesman told Fox News.
Security Security Administration (TSA) agents, air traffic controllers and border security officers will also face closure, even though they may not be entitled to A wage
Amtrak, a government-owned company, will also continue its normal business during a short-term stop, a spokeswoman told Fox News.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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