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Border Wall Row

US govt in partial shutdown

AFP, Washington
An air of chaos enveloped Washington yesterday as the US government kicked off the holidays by partially shutting down, following the failure of leaders to pass a federal spending bill as negotiations stalled over Donald Trump's demand for money to build a US-Mexico border wall.
Operations for several key agencies ceased at 12:01am yesterday (0501 GMT), despite last-ditch talks that continued on Capitol Hill between White House officials and congressional leaders in both parties.
Most critical security functions remain operational but 800,000 federal workers are impacted, with many furloughed just days before Christmas while others deemed essential are working unpaid.
And as many other Americans and tourists began vacations head of end-of-the year holidays some national parks have shuttered completely, while others remain open but without any visitor services including restrooms and maintenance.
New York's governor provided funding to the Statue of Liberty monument and Ellis Island so those key attractions could remain open.
The budget wrangling and subsequent shutdown - the third in a year - cast a dark cloud over the US capital already reeling from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's resignation announcement Thursday.
The uncertainty pushed Wall Street into a third straight rout on Friday, to end its worst week since late 2008 at the start of the global financial crisis.
"President Trump threw a temper tantrum and convinced House Republicans to push our nation into a destructive Trump Shutdown," Chuck Schumer, the top opposition Democrat in the Senate, and his House counterpart, fellow Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said in a joint statement.
Trump has dug in on his demand for $5 billion for construction of a wall to curb illegal immigration on the US border with Mexico. Democrats are staunchly opposed, and the absence of an elusive deal means federal funds for dozens of agencies lapsed at midnight Friday.
The House of Representatives and the Senate are due back in session later yesterday.
But it remains unclear how long the shutdown will last, with Washington unable to accomplish one of its most basic tasks - keeping the government up and running.
"This is a dereliction of duty by Congress and the president," said David Cox, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Trump voiced hope late Friday that it "will not last long" - after earlier saying he was ready for just that.
His own Republican party still controls both the House and Senate, but in January the House comes under Democratic control.
Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia - a state bordering the US Capitol that is home to many federal workers - urged Trump in a letter Saturday to push immediate action to end the shutdown, saying it "inflicts real harm" on workers.
"I share your desire for strong economic growth throughout the United States, but the current partial government shutdown makes it harder to achieve this goal," the Democratic governor said.
About three-quarters of the government, including the military and the Department of Health and Human Services, is fully funded until the end of September 2019, leaving 25 percent unfunded as of yesterday.
Most Nasa employees will be sent home, as will Commerce Department workers and many at the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Agriculture and State.
"It's up to the Democrats whether or not we have a shutdown tonight," Trump said earlier Friday, blaming his political opponents for the crisis.
"I hope we don't," the president added, but "we're totally prepared for a very long shutdown."