U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (L) walks towards the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, on Dec. 21, 2018. A partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government came into effect, starting Friday midnight, after failed attempts to end a budget impasse over President Donald Trump's long-promised border wall. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- A partial shutdown of U.S. federal government came into effect, starting midnight Friday, after failed attempts to end a budget impasse over President Donald Trump's long-promised border wall.
The shutdown is set to affect nine Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture, State and Justice, as well as national parks and forests.
It also forces some 800,000 federal employees to go on furlough or work without pay.
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney is instructing federal departments and agencies "to execute plans for an orderly shutdown" when government funding runs out.
"We are hopeful that this lapse in appropriations will be of short duration" but that employees should report to work when scheduled to "undertake orderly shutdown activities," Mulvaney, also the incoming acting White House chief of staff, said in a memo.
The shutdown was assured after Trump was unable to agree with Democrats and Republicans in Congress over stopgap funding legislation that includes funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, a centerpiece of the president's 2016 campaign but was firmly opposed by Democrats.
Trump said late Friday night that he hopes the partial shutdown will not "last long."
"We are going to have a shutdown, there is nothing we can do about that, because we need the Democrats to give us their votes," Trump said in a video released on Twitter.
He also said he would accept money for a "Steel Slat Barrier" with spikes on the top, which he claimed would be as effective as a "wall" and "at the same time beautiful."
The House and Senate have adjourned until Saturday noon. Trump cancelled his planned trip to the state of Florida on Friday for the Christmas holiday due to the shutdown. Lawmakers and the White House remain at an impasse despite negotiations over the last two days.
Earlier this week, senators reached a deal on a short-term funding measure that did not include the 5 billion U.S. dollars Trump has sought for the border wall.
The president, thought to have softened his stance over it, said Thursday he would not sign the bill that would have funded parts of the federal government through Feb. 8. Analysts say he was caving in to pressure from conservative allies and his base.
The House passed a temporary spending bill late Thursday that includes the border wall money but couldn't get enough votes to clear the Senate, setting the stage for the multi-sided showdown.
Mulvaney, along with Vice President Mike Pence and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, tried to broker a last-minute compromise with Democrats and some Republicans on Friday before leaving the Capitol Hill with no signs of an agreement.
Meanwhile, Trump was trying to pin the shutdown on Democrats, while Democratic leaders were pushing back.
"Instead of honoring his responsibility to the American people, President Trump threw a temper tantrum and convinced House Republicans to push our nation into a destructive Trump Shutdown in the middle of the holiday season," said a joint statement by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
It would be the third U.S. federal government shutdown this year. The January and February shutdowns, lasting for several days combined, also involved dispute over immigration.
This time, three-quarters of government programs won't be affected as they are fully funded through next September, including those in the Defense Department, Labor Department and Health and Human Services.
