The end of the ‘shutdown’ in the US seems far from in sight. The 800,000 civil servants missed their first payslip on Friday. The effects are becoming more and more visible at airports and in national parks, for example.
The government in the US has been ‘locked up’ for 24 days because the Congress and the White House can not reach agreement on the new budget.
US President Donald Trump demands that the House of Representatives and the Senate agree to the financing of the wall he wants between the US and Mexico. It involves an amount of nearly 6 billion dollars.
The Democrats, who received the majority in the House of Representatives at the beginning of January, refuse to agree to this. A group of Republicans also feels that Trump needs to adjust its requirement. Negotiations between the Democrats and Trump did not work out last week. The president left the consultation after a few words. This he did after the Democrats told him not to agree with his wall.
The ‘shutdown’ is now entering the books as the longest the US has ever known. It is the first time that the government is ‘locked’ because the president demands that the Congress approve a controversial post on its budget.
Several Republicans are trying to persuade Trump to abandon his demand and in one way or another put an end to the shutdown. Despite his torrent of tweets in which he blames the Democrats for the situation, most polls show that most Americans think otherwise.
Although Trumps’s permanent support continues to support him, a majority of Americans blame the situation at the White House.
The effects of the shutdown are becoming increasingly noticeable. Most of the officials in the White House have been sent home.
At various large airports, such as Houston and Miami, waiting times are running, as some federal security officers no longer show up. No patrols take place in national parks, which has led to vandalism and wild camping.
Trump has already threatened to declare the state of emergency several times. That way he can get his budget through Congress outside of Congress. But many Republicans strongly advise him against this. The Democrats would immediately challenge this decision through the courts and almost certainly win the fight. Moreover, such a step would further damage people’s confidence in politics.
