The second year of Donald Trump’s presidency of the United States began as US government activity stopped while lawmakers met in the hope of a compromise that would provide funding for federal agencies in the country.
A Trump spokeswoman said in a statement on Saturday that the president would not begin immigration negotiations until the Democrats agreed to reinstate the government.
“The president will not negotiate immigration reform until the Democrats stop maneuvering and reopen the government,” said Sarah Sanders.
Employees in government departments were asked to stay at home or in some cases to work without pay until new funding was approved for the first time since October 2013 when a similar 16-day closure took place, leaving only the necessary equipment in the country.
Because of the political crisis, which could have an impact on congressional elections in November, the Republican-dominated House and Senate held weekend sessions on Saturday, which is rare.
But Republicans in the House of Representatives held a closed meeting before the public meeting and appear to be taking a hard line against the Democrats, suggesting a possible prolongation of the crisis.
Since the beginning of the fiscal year, the government has been funding three temporary budgets.
The US government halted its activities from midnight on Friday after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach agreement on the federal government’s funding budget due to a bitter bipartisan dispute over immigration and border security.
In a session that lasted until midnight, congressional members did not agree on an interim budget to fund the government until February 16. The draft resolution needed the approval of 60 votes in the 100-member Senate, but only 50 votes were approved.
Most Democratic lawmakers opposed the draft after their efforts failed to include protection for hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants called “dreamers”.
Negotiations by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer failed to reach an agreement before the midnight deadline, and the government was technically devoid of funding by midnight.
Government activities were suspended on Saturday with the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president.
In tweets published early on Saturday, Trump blamed the closure on Democratic lawmakers.
“This is the anniversary of my presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice gift,” he said.
“The Democrats’ interest in illegal immigrants is greater than their interest in our great army and security on our dangerous southern border … they could have easily concluded an agreement but decided to resort to the closure policy instead,” he said.
“Tonight, give the priority to national security, to the families of the military and vulnerable children, and to our country’s ability to serve all Americans,” the White House said in a statement.
He said he would not negotiate immigration until the government resumed its activities.
“We will not negotiate the status of illegal immigrants as the Democrats hold our legitimate citizens hostage to their humiliating demands,” he said. “This is the behavior of losers with disabilities and not legislators.”
In contrast, Schumer pointed the finger directly at Trump.
“As if you were trying to disrupt the activities, this is what happened now and the whole blame will be on President Trump.”
Until an agreement is reached on the government’s budget, many federal agencies across the country will stop working and hundreds of thousands of “non-essential” federal workers will receive an unpaid holiday.
The Republican-dominated House passed a temporary alternative funding measure on Thursday, but Republicans needed at least 10 Democrats to pass the bill in the Senate. Although five Democrats ultimately voted for him, five Republicans voted against him.
Democratic leaders have demanded that the deal include protection of the “dreamers” from deportation, some 700,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children. But despite the bipartisan negotiations, the Republican leaders refuse to do so and no side is willing to back down.
McConnell and Schumer insisted they were committed to reaching an agreement that would bring the government back to work as soon as possible.
Last week Trump rejected a proposal for the two parties and said he wanted to include any agreement on the “dreamers” of a larger legislative package that would also boost funding for a border wall and tighten security at the US border with Mexico.
Schumer met Friday’s tramp, and later said he reluctantly agreed to annex the border wall to the negotiations, but that was not enough to convince Trump to reach a settlement.
Schumer also called on Trump and party leaders to continue negotiations on Saturday.
“Basic” personnel dealing with matters of public safety and public security will continue to operate in the absence of government activities. This will include more than 1.3 million people in the military who will be required to work without pay until a new agreement on the government’s funding budget is extended or reached.
Although government closures in the past have caused little or no permanent damage to the US economy, they can strain financial markets.