U.S. government partially shuts down as Congress resists funding Trump's border wall
Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump warned of a 'very long' shutdown and tried to pin blame on Democrats after previously saying he'd be 'proud' to shutter parts of the government over border security.
The federal government partially shut down for the third time this year early Saturday as lawmakers in Washington continued to wrangle over funding for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.
Key lawmakers and Trump administration officials returned midday Saturday to resume negotiations over Trump's border-wall funding demand of at least $5 billion. By the middle of the afternoon, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his chamber would adjourn for the Christmas holiday, not returning until Dec. 27. McConnell told members that no further votes would occur until Trump and Senate Democrats reached an agreement, leaving open the possibility, however slim, that he could call them back. The House is also no longer in session.
Vice President Mike Pence met again with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer but whether progress was made was not immediately clear Saturday afternoon. Trump met with a handful of Republicans for lunch at the White House and tweeted:
The crisis of illegal activity at our Southern Border is real and will not stop until we build a great Steel Barrier or Wall. Let work begin!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2018With the impasse, funding expired for the Commerce, Interior, Treasury and other departments. Some economic-data releases will be delayed if the shutdown continues into next week, and many federal workers will be furloughed. A shutdown won't affect agencies including the Pentagon and Health and Human Services whose operations have already been funded.
See: Report on new-home sales would fall victim to government shutdown
After warning of a potentially lengthy shutdown, Trump spent Friday attempting to pin blame on Democrats, about a week after he said he would be "proud" to shut parts of the government in an effort to beef up border security via the construction of a physical wall.
In a joint statement, Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi put the responsibility of the shutdown back on Trump and the Republicans and looked ahead to the new year, when Democrats take back the House majority.
"Democrats have offered Republicans multiple proposals to keep the government open, including one that already passed the Senate unanimously, and all of which include funding for strong, sensible, and effective border security - not the president's ineffective and expensive wall," they said. "If President Trump and Republicans choose to continue this Trump Shutdown, the new House Democratic majority will swiftly pass legislation to re-open government in January."
Fears of a partial shutdown gripped Wall Street on Friday, helping to send U.S. stocks lower. The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA, -2.91%finished the day lower and logged its worst week since October 2008. The U.S. dollarDXY, -0.37%rallied versus its major rivals.
Read: Dow posts worst week since '08; Nasdaq enters bear market as government shutdown looms
Also see: What a government shutdown could mean for stock market
Trump has made the construction of a wall along the Mexican border one of his signature proposals, but has increasingly vented frustrations that it hasn't been built. Late Friday, he tweeted a drawing of what he called a design of "our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective":
A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful! pic.twitter.com/sGltXh0cu9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives in January. They have opposed giving Trump the $5 billion or more that he has sought for a wall, and some mocked his suggestion of a steel barrier:
?"??">>|?">>?"?|?"??">>|?">>?"?|?"??">>|?">>?"?|?"??">>|?">>?"?|?"??">>|?">>?"?|?"??">>|?">>?"?|?"??">>| _?">>?"?| ?EUR?.?EUR?)No steel slats. ?"??">>|??,? 3/4 ? ?">>?"?|
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) December 21, 2018A procedural vote was held Friday on a House-passed bill containing $5.7 billion for border security. McConnell said the step allowed for preserving "maximum flexibility for productive conversations to continue between the White House and our Democratic colleagues." The House will not be able to pass that bill with the support from Democrats.