The government does not work, but it receives a salary: how will the 'shutdown' end

The partial closure of the government in the United States will last at least until Thursday, and may be delayed for a few more days or even weeks.

Photo: facebook.com/WhiteHouse

President Donald Trump is firmly on his own, demanding that Congress allocate funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico, and the Democrats still resolutely refuse to do so.

“The only way to stop the drug trade, human trafficking and criminal elements in our country is a wall or barrier,” Trump wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday.

“At midnight, President Trump decided to close the government because of his demands to build a medieval wall on the border,” Democratic Senator Dick Durbin tweeted. “This is pointless and cruel.”

This is the fourth case in the last five years, when Congress and the White House cannot agree on how much money to allocate to the federal government and what needs, and do not have time to adopt the budget, which leads to partial closure of federal agencies.

Last Wednesday, the partial closure of the government seemed unlikely: the Republican-controlled Senate unanimously passed a temporary funding bill. The White House initially made it clear that it supports this bill, which provides additional funds to strengthen border security, but not to build a wall. Ultimately, however, Trump rejected the bill, demanding that Congress allocate a billion dollars to 5,7 to build the wall.

"Our great country should have border security ... with a wall or barricade, or whatever you call it," the president said in a video message on Friday.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a budget bill that does not provide for wall funding, but this version will not gain enough votes in the Senate, where Democrats show strong resistance.

“This bill will never pass through the Senate. Neither today, nor next week, nor next year, - said the leader of the Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer. “Therefore, Mr. President, President Trump: if you want to open a government, you need to forget about the wall.” Simply and easily".

Meanwhile, the Republicans for the most part supported the Trump demand.

"It would seem that such tasks as ensuring the security of our country, control over our borders and the protection of the American people should be priorities for both parties ... a key duty of the government of any country," said Mitch McConnell, leader of the Senate majority.

On Saturday, McConnell released the senators for the holidays, and until December 27 no voting in the House is planned.

Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget of the White House, assured that federal employees will receive a salary due for the period up to December 28, problems may arise later, writes TASS.

“The government will suspend work on Sunday in any case. Monday will be a federal holiday, Tuesday [Catholic Christmas] too, so really everything [the suspension] starts on Wednesday. Paychecks will arrive on December 28th because no one will work without being paid for their labor. The next date for payment of salaries is January 11,” explained the acting director. chief of staff of the White House staff, making it clear that salary problems may arise during this period.

He confirmed that on Saturday the President of the United States held consultations with representatives of the Democratic Party in Congress and made them a counter proposal regarding the temporary funding of the government. Controversial was the size of the appropriations for the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico.

Screenshot from Twitter / @ realDonaldTrump

In the past, democrats showed flexibility on additional financing for border security, including walls, as part of a broader agreement on controversial immigration issues.

Earlier this year, Democrats were prepared to support the financing of the wall in exchange for the protection of illegal immigrants imported into America in childhood. Trump initially welcomed this arrangement, but then refused it.

In 2013, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to significantly increase funding for border security as part of a comprehensive reform of immigration law, but the House of Representatives, which was controlled by Republicans, refused to consider this initiative.

Now Trump demands to allocate money for the wall, but so far nothing is offered to the Democrats in return. On Sunday, the White House hinted that the situation could change.

“The President has made it very clear that he is ready to discuss a broader solution to the immigration issue,” the acting president said. White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvani in an interview with ABC.

Throughout the 2016 election campaign of the year, Trump has repeatedly promised that Mexico will cover the cost of building the wall. Now, the White House argues that Mexico contributes indirectly to the economic benefits that the Americans received due to the renewal of the trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Democrats have repeatedly reminded Trump of his promise.

“We have come to this point because President Trump rolled up a destructive tantrum for two weeks, demanding that American taxpayers forked over an expensive and inefficient wall at the border, for which, as the President promised, Mexico had to pay,” said Schumer.

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