US shutdown sparks bitter blame game
US Government agencies closed down yesterday as Donald Trump’s first year as President ended in chaos.
Everything but essential services halted after Democrat politicians blocked a bill to keep operations running for another four weeks amid a stand-off over immigration.
Members of Congress are at loggerheads over what should be included in a spending bill to keep the government open.
Both political parties blamed each other with President Trump tweeting that his opponents “wanted to give me a nice present” to mark the start of his second year in office.
One of the biggest sticking points is a demand by Democrats to guarantee that nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children are not be deported.
Republicans argue immigration is a separate issue from the bill itself and say it can be dealt with later.
Post will get delivered and US troops will continue to work during the shutdown – only the fourth government closure in 25 years – but they will likely go unpaid if it continues.
The work of the US’s 17 separate intelligence agencies will be significantly reduced.
The impasse came as Michael Wolff, the author of a bombshell book detailing the last year in the White House, implied in a TV interview that President Trump is currently having an affair.