Donald Trump vows ‘no surrender’ on US government shutdown

As the US government shutdown entered its 32nd day, US President Donald Trump showed no signs of budging.

Trump had a message for Democrats counting on him to relent in the Washington arm wrestle blocking funds to swathes of the government for a record 32 days: “No Cave!” 

Mr Trump’s defiant tweet again blamed congressional Democrats for the chaos, insisting he will not lift his shutdown on federal government funding unless they approve his $US5.7 billion plan for more walls along the US-Mexican border.

Without a Wall our Country can never have Border or National Security … The Dems know this but want to play political games. Must finally be done correctly, Trump tweeted.

It comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will try to muscle through the 1300-page spending measure, which includes the money to fund Mr Trump’s proposed wall along the US-Mexico border, the sticking point in the standoff between Mr Trump and Democrats that has led to a partial government shutdown now in its 32nd day.

Trump triggered a partial government shutdown on December 22 — refusing to sign off on funding everything from FBI salaries to national park services — as a way of pressuring the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives to back the wall project.

 

But with Democrats refusing to give in and Trump sticking to his hardball tactics, political paralysis in Washington has morphed into growing day-to-day pain across the country as some 800,000 federal employees adjust to life without salaries.

Mr Trump’s main opponent, Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi, was adamant on Tuesday that the president is to blame. “#EndTheShutdown now,” she tweeted.

Mrs Pelosi, speaker of the Democrat-led House, argues that border security funding cannot even be discussed before the shutdown ends, accusing Mr Trump of “holding Americans hostage.”