Failure to reach deal forces partial US govt shutdown

The failure of Republicans in the US Senate to muster the votes needed to approve $5bn for the Mexico border wall has forced a partial government shutdown.

President Donald Trump had earlier demanded for a border wall which has been fiercely opposed by Democrats and his failure to get the required votes forced the US government to officially shutdown at midnight on Friday.

Trump however said, the shutdown of key parts of the federal government could last “a very long time”. Democrats put the blame squarely on Trump for refusing to back down on his demand for the wall.

Read also: US Senate hands Trump rare double rebuke over war in Yemen, murder of Khashoggi

“President Trump has thrown a temper tantrum and now has us careening towards a ‘Trump shutdown’ over Christmas,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor on Friday.

“You’re not getting the wall today, next week or on January 3rd, when Democrats take control of the House,” Schumer added.

The money Trump wants is a fraction of the roughly $450 billion Congress was poised to approve – before the latest battle over the proposed wall – to fund several agencies which will otherwise run out of money anytime soon.

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