Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Updated at 1pm
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP marked the first anniversary of his inauguration today with his government in shutdown, accusing Democrats of taking Americans hostage with their demands and saying they “could have easily made a deal”.
As the clock struck midnight, in the absence of an agreed spending plan, federal services began to come to a halt or be scaled back.
Essential services and military activity will continue but many public sector workers will be sent home without wages and even serving soldiers will not be paid until a deal is reached to reopen the US government.
“Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border,” Trump wrote in an early morning tweet.
“They could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead. #WeNeedMoreRepublicansIn18 in order to power through mess!”
“This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present,” he added.
Vice President Mike Pence had earlier raised the issue of soldiers’ salaries after meeting with US military personnel on a stopover in Shannon Airport in Ireland ahead of a three-country tour of the Middle East.
“You have troops headed down range to Kuwait for six months and they are anxious about the fact that they aren’t going to get paid right away,” he told reporters. “It’s unconscionable.”
‘Schumer Shutdown’
A deal had appeared likely yesterday afternoon, when Trump seemed to be close to an agreement with Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on a measure to prevent the expulsion of undocumented migrants who arrived in the country as children.
But no such compromise was in the language that reached Congress for a stop-gap motion to keep the government open for four more weeks while a final arrangement is discussed – and Republicans failed to win enough Democratic support to bring it to a vote.
The White House lashed out at Schumer, blaming him for the shutdown and doubling down: Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Sanders declared that he would never negotiate an immigration deal until Congress agrees to resume normal government spending.
“Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown,” she declared.
“We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands,” she said.
Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell echoed the White House’s language, but Schumer fought back, blaming Trump for leading him to believe a deal was possible on the immigration dispute but then failing to bring his own party along.
Responsibility to govern
“Every American knows the Republican Party controls White House, the Senate, the House – it is their job to keep the government open. It is their job to work with us to move forward,” Schumer told the Senate, after the 50 to 49 vote.
Schumer added he had also offered to discuss the possibility of building a wall along the border with Mexico, a key campaign pledge made by Trump that is anathema to many Democrats.
“Even that was not enough to entice the president to finish the deal,” he said.
Democrats accused Republicans of poisoning chances of a deal and pandering to Trump’s populist base by refusing to fund a program that protects 700,000 “Dreamers” – undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children – from deportation.
The president shelved plans to fly to Florida to celebrate at his Mar-a-Lago estate the first anniversary of his inauguration to remain in Washington to ride out the storm.
Republicans have a tenuous one-seat majority in the Senate but would have needed to lure some Democrats to their side to get a 60 vote supermajority to bring the motion forward. They fell ten votes short.
The measure brought to Congress would have extended federal funding until 16 February and reauthorised for six years a health insurance program for poor children – a long-time Democratic objective.
But it would have cut the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, that affects Dreamers.
White House officials insisted there was no urgency to fix DACA, which expires 5 March.
There have been four government shutdowns since 1990. In the last one in 2013, more than 800,000 government workers were put on temporary leave.
International ratings agency Fitch said a partial shutdown was unlikely to affect America’s AAA/stable rating for US sovereign debt.
Negotiations with the White House on a bipartisan compromise on DACA blew up last week after Trump reportedly referred to African nations and Haiti as “shithole countries.”
The Senate was set to reconvene at noon on Saturday, with McConnell seeking a new stop-gap measure to fund the government till February 8.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Well Trump did always say he’d run America like he’d run one of his businesses. Guess he wasn’t lying.
@Jesus Christ: Just a few of Trump’s
Failures, Bankruptcies, Frauds & Scams
The Trump Network – MLM Scam
Trump University – Fraud
Trump Tampa – Failure & Fraud
Trump Soho – Bankrupt & death of worker
Trump Golf Aberdeen – Job promise scam
Vera Coking – attempted to take her home
Molly Forbes – attempt to take her home
Trump Golf Puerto Rico – Bankrupt
Trump Chicago – default on 40 mil loan payment
Trump Panama – lawsuit for management corruptlot
Trump Baja Mexico – Fraud & Failure
Trump Fort Lauderdale – Scam & failure
Trump Vodka – business failure
Trump Steaks – business failure
Trump Shuttle – loan default biz failure
Trump Air & Trump Pak – business failure
Trump Air & Trump Pak – business failure
Trump Taj Mahal – bankrupt four times
Trump Marina/Trump Castle – bankrupt
Trump Plaza – bankrupt
Trump Indiana Riverboat Casino – bankrupt
Trump IPO – ticker DJT – DJTCQ – TRMP – TER – Fail
Trump Atlanta – failure
Trump Charlotte – failure
Trump Jupiter – lawsuit
Trump Waikiki Hotel – scam lawsuit
@neilo: god how naive, go read some books on how big business operates .. losses are engineered just as profits are fpr strategic reasons. Meanwhile remember Obama faced similar partisan issues.
@Martin Critten: except the republicans control both the senate and congress and the white house, there should be no partisan issues blocking then from doing anything
@Jesus Christ: the democrats are the ones that shut down the government all to get at Trump.. pathetic
@Al Coholic:
Placing illegal immigrants over American soldiers serving abroad. I can see that working out very well for the Democrats and their popularity in patriotic America…
@Ian McNally: Don’t think John McCain or Senator Graham have voted once with Trump in the Senate…They don’t have whip system like we have….There are no sanctions for voting against your party….
@Paul Furey: HI Paul, I am not challenging your list but according to the Journal intelligentsia you must provide facts when making observations while debating any issue, so please feel free to do so. Cheers mate
@John003: Tax Bill.
@Thought for Food: wow… So you just take what Trump says at face value and aren’t worried about the actual facts? Pathetic
@Seth Cheffetz:
What actual facts am I missing?
This shutdown is centred on DACA and disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over its future. DACA was set up to facilitate illegal immigrants. By shutting down the government over this, they are hurting American families over illegal immigrants.
What “facts” are missing in this description?
@Thought for Food: how about the fact the GOP couldn’t even get the support of all it’s own senators to back the bill?
@Martin Critten: why does every Trump supporter use the ‘well Obama did this or that’ he’s not a president anymore, this Trump moron is!
@Paul Furey:
The Dems just put 700.000 illegals ahead of national security, let that sink in.
@Tony Gordon: Or they want to parrot some conspiracy theory about Hilary Clinton despite the election having taken place the year before last.
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: what “illegals”? DACA is about children of illegal immigrants who grew up in the US. They can now work, pay tax, contribute to the country. What’s your problem?
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: I’d be prepared to consider your comments (and the pro-Trump comments of other regular Trump supporters on The Journal) if there was any recognition by you of relative failures, mistakes, inexperience, etc. by Trump. But you are consistently, blindly, partisan and misdirect all the time. That does not equal credibility. Why anyone would paint things in black and white in a grey and extremely problematic world is beyond me. To blindly support anyone is foolhardy. I don’t know if this is due to you not wanting to loose face (which is typical of pretty much everyone I’ve known), but no politician or political candidate is worthy of that non-critical support. The tone and content of Trump supporters has beggared belief since he was elected. His White House administration has been shambolic and he is 100% responsible for his own staff appointments and decisions within the White House. He cannot blame anyone else but himself for that. He specifically promised the American people a well-oiled and efficient administration.
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: Let this sink in..people with DACA visas are not “illegal”. They have DACA visas and to qualify for DACA you have to been under 16 when you entered the US, you have to be in school in the US or have gone to school in the US and achieved a general education diploma, have absolutely no misdemeanors or any criminal record…and even at that you still need to renew your DACA visa every 2 years to stay legally in the US
@Thought for Food: I’ll tell you what facts you’re missing.
You’re (deliberately?) ignoring the fact that a bipartisan DACA deal was on the table that Trump had tacitly approved of, before he decided to lose his head and start spouting profanity about foreign countries.
His catastrophic implosion caused the deal, which was ready to go, to fall apart, and the subsequent failure to pass the federal budget. Yet you’re here blaming Democrats? Explain to me how that works, if you wouldn’t mind.
Trump cocked up the *bipartisan* deal that was planned to avert this crisis, on purpose. You don’t get to go pointing the finger at other people here.
@Paul Furey: It’s bull shit and means nothing. He falls down he gets up, his wealth is a testimony to that, You should not stress yourself too much over President Trump, you seem very obsessed with him. He is definitely a winner, no matter what crap is printed about him he soldiers on. Remarkable man.
@David A. Murray:
Schumer shutdown.
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/954431855754956801
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: what’s your issue with allowing the DACA program continue?
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: how come the previous President made sure the military would be paid during the last shutdown, but Trump insists on Exploiting the US Military to shame his opponents?
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: what 700,000 ‘illegals’ are you talking about ? And why do you have to use a pathetic meme to try and get your point across ? Is it the way that you haven’t a clue about these people ?
@Tom&Gerry: “he’s definitely a winner” – he’s won,alright.He’s won a nice few bob from the tax scam for him and his family..
@Francis Mc Carthy: Yes he is a winner, look at his life, very successful business man,employs hundreds if not thousands of people, has a beautiful wife, beautiful children,all successful in their own right, and beautiful grandchildren. Elected by millions of Americans to become President of the United States of America, Takes unbelievable crap on a constant basis from MSN and still smiles and carries on. Yes, i would definitely call him a winner.
@Tom&Gerry: “very,successful businessman” – not paying staff -aka-slavery.Robbing poor peoples tips-aka-thieving..bankrupt so many times..bailed out by the bank as he was too big too fail…bankrupted a casino..lols..
Talks unbelievable crap..fixed it for yah…
@Malachi: You know so much about it Malachi, where you in the room?, what profanity did he spout about foreign countries?.
@Francis Mc Carthy: No, you didn’t, You are talking bullshit, and unfortunately believing all the crap that MNS prints about him. The facts speak for themselves . Donald Trump has a fabulous life,is incredibly wealthy, has a beautiful wife and beautiful family. Elected by millions of Americans to be their President. Now unless you are american, why should that bother you so much, and why are you all so obsessed with him?.
@MSN.
@Larry Doyle: As it transpires Larry, it appears the conspiracy theories are true. There is now indisputable evidence of a conspiracy to oust Trump in order for Hillary to gain power, it appears that Hillary along with others including the FBI,fabricated the Russian collusion stories and started a campaign to try to get Trump out of office. Smarter people like myself knew this already, as i suspect did some of the Trump haters. Heads are going to roll and i am so going to enjoy watching this saga unfold. Liars will always be found out.
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: Open borders was and is Hillarys dream, along with her benefactor, who funded her election costs, George Soros. It is no secret that this man and others like him are hell bent on trying to swarm Europe and the United States of America with migrants and to end nationalism and Christianity. It is what they call the New World Order. President Trump is trying to stop their plan which is why they hate him so much. Anyone with any sense at all would see who is right and who is wrong.
@Tom&Gerry: DACA is nothing near ‘open borders’, The C stands for ‘childhood’. A DACA visa holder does not have a legal right to vote in the US, the visa requires the holder applying for it’s extension every 2 years…what’s your problem with it?
O’Bama, Comey, Clinton and numerous members of the FBI and CIA are facing arrest. The leftist Media are attempting to cover the story up, it’s all over fox news etc
@Dean Burroughs: yawn
@Dean Burroughs: just like the time when fox news stated that the FBI had issued an arrest warrant for Obama and he was about to be arrested. The only problem was that the source was a local version of Waterford Whispers https://www.snopes.com/fbi-arrest-warrant-obama/
@Dean Burroughs: “using the powerful tools of intelligence” clearly not.
@Dean Burroughs: I have some shares in an aluminium millinery factory if you are interested
@Dean Burroughs: O’Bama? Fox News? Lol! Yeah I’ll just get straight onto never watching that!
@Dean Burroughs: the Alex Jones of the Journal
Cough..Beachbit..Cough!
@Dean Burroughs: Exactly. Why don’t some of you commenters do some of your own research into FISA. Steer away from Fox, Breitbart etc and look at the recent debates in the senate. Heads are going to roll because of this. Even Fox are staying away because it could also be damaging to some of the Republicans!
@Simon O’Connor: Fox aren’t staying away from the FISA story at all, they’re apoplectic about it.
@Dean Burroughs: Wow, at last the truth will be told, well done Dean. All you Trump haters click on the link that Dean sent, be prepared to be shocked.
@Deborah Behan: ? Yes because you might actually get to hear the truth. Fox news the only reliable and honest source of news from the US. Anybody with an ounce of intelligence knows that. Would just love to see your face, when you find out you have been backing the wrong horse all this time. LOL
@Tom&Gerry: yeah until they turn on Trump.. I honestly hope you are american, At least then there is an excuse for your idiocy.
Great the way that republicans throw in “military families” into the mix, appealing to patriotism. Most of these military families are living on or below the poverty line, much like or own.
@zippo:
Then they should get a real job.
@P.J. Nolan: Do tell us all about how easy it is to get a job when you have a shattered psyche and god knows what damage caused by the chemicals used in modern warfare.
@P.J. Nolan: One of these days you may well need those without a real job, our own keep peace around the world and they are there as the last line of defence for us…will they be needed ? probably not ! but I’d rather be looking at them, then looking for them.
@zippo:
The Democrats and some Republicans decided to place the feelings of illegal immigrants over Americans who are sacrificing their lives for America on a daily basis.
He’s absolutely right to say that.
@Thought for Food: you haven’t a clue…not a clue..haahhaha,,,find out if there is DACA in the military….hahaahha
Hordes of panicky people seem to be evacuating the town for some unknown reason. Professor, without knowing precisely what the danger is, would you say it’s time for our viewers to crack each other’s heads open and feast on the goo inside?
@Ken Hayden: why yes Kent. Yes i would.
Democrats putting illegals before American citizens, clowns.
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: Trump did that too. Wall-for-DACA was in place and he $*ht the bed. How embarrassing.
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: it’s on every news site and commentary that the republicans control everything. Republicans voted against their glorious leader. How did you miss that?
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: who are these ‘illegals’ that you are talking about ?
@neilo: they need 60 votes this time and they do t have 60 Republican Senators so even if every Republican votes for it it’s still not enough, several democrats would still need to vote for it.
@Conor Walsh: they didn’t even get the 51 Republican senators on board but nice try
@Eleanor of Aquitaine: Republicans put their hatred of Obama before the citizens they are meant to represen
The shut down in 2013 was related to a funding issue. This shut down is related to a separate issue. As long as Chuckie Cheese Shumer is the face of the shut down with Doiyann Finesteeen behind him this is a loser for the Democrats.
@Joe Caulfield: Except it’s a ‘loser’ for Trump too. A bipartisan DACA deal was on the table and he decided to self-destruct with his “$h**hole” comment and yet another policy flip-flop, now the government is shutting down. Yet of course, the Democrats get all the blame.
Funny that the guy who wrote Art of the Deal is actually much better at wrecking deals. Political incompetence on a whole new level.
@neilo: Is that the same Washington Post that said Hillary would win?
@Joe Caulfield: just accept that the Republicans care more for the 1%
@neilo: The question is actually a bit leading though – they should not have prioritized ‘trump and republicans’ in the question wording. Not sure why that answer option is even clubbed together either – splitting out trump, republicans,democrats would have been better/more interesting. Largest proportion was probably for trump specifically.
@Spbeak: because he is the head of the party and President?
@Joe Caulfield: Nah dint think so. Have a look at twitter, trumpshutdown is trending number one. Demshutdown isn’t even in the top 20. Trump is getting all the blame for this one. Its a spectacular failure.
@Sean:
You’re really going to use Twitter as a metric? The same Twitter that was caught out for making the banning of prominent Conservative voices a matter of internal policy to combat “hate”?
It’s already well known that Twitter skews their trending algorithms to favour liberal topics.
@Thought for Food: Trump regularly uses his Twitter numbers as a metric of his popularity, beauty, genius, health, hand size, rightness……..
@Larry Doyle:
And? Do you believe what Trump says?
I’m pretty sure you don’t, so I’m struggling to see what relevance your comment has to anything.
@Thought for Food: You are disparaging a commentator for using “Twitter as a metric” but fail to acknowledge that the current president does the very same on regular occasions.
@Larry Doyle:
And?
I criticise Trump for doing the exact same. Which brings me back to the same point. What does your comment add to the discussion?
@Thought for Food: Common sense, a wider perspective and some honesty but no name calling or insulting condescension.
@Thought for Food: Ha. And what? I should take your word instead? Jesus Christ, you’re an arrogant s.o.b.
This is the type of total political failure, that effects all Americans in a practical way, that can forever stain a presidency and may even end it. Before the usual Trump fellow travellers start whining about the shutdown in 2013, I would point out that was a tactic by a Republican controlled congress, what is their excuse now that The Republicans control all branches of Government.
@Larry Doyle:
Because you need 60 votes and there were only 51 Republicans.
Maths isn’t your strongest subject I’m assuming.
@Thought for Food: Why has this never happened when one party control all three branches? Where is the art in that deal? History isn’t your strongest subject I’m assuming.
@Larry Doyle:
Funny how you can’t just admit that you don’t know how the American political system works. You have to go on the attack.
There’s no shame in admitting that you didn’t know that Trump needed all Republicans and some Democrats onboard to reach the requisite votes. Educate yourself instead of trying to attack me for your failings in your knowledge.
@Thought for Food: The absence of an answer my question as to why this hasn’t happened before, is pretty obvious, in spite of your repeated attempts deflect that failure with insults.
@Thought for Food: “Funny how you can’t just admit that you don’t know how the American political system works. You have to go on the attack.”
But Larry is riiiiiiiiight,Thoughtless.The government COULD have put in a ‘continuing resolution’ -which only needed the 51 votes and would have funded the military for a whole year.. You should look things up…
No need to thank me..
@Francis Mc Carthy: thank you
Trump will say whatever he believes will play to the citizens who are likely to vote for him. There have been many bad U.S. Presidents, but Trump is doing damage to the Presidency itself. Nixon was highly intelligent and politically astute, but his psychology was completely unsuited to holding the presidency. Trump is interested only in promoting brand Trump. Whatever happens he will come out of all this with a best selling book about his time in the White House. I understand that many U.S. citizens genuinely wanted change and that the U.S. is facing enormous problems, but Trump is not the answer (and neither was Hillary Clinton).
@David A. Murray: if there’s one good thing to come out of trump’s election, it’s that even americans are doing away with this notion that the president is someone who’s automatically entitled to your respect.
@Wastrel: I think the tradition of respect was more for the office than whomever sat in it.
So he is yet again exposed as completely ineffective, but this time through his own words.
Can’t these worker stay and work instead of being sent home ? They certainly will get paid unlike the small contractors and employees at Carllion
I never thought I’d see the day when the Democrats actually try to accomplish something politically.
Well that’s his Mar a Lago weekend ruined
To all of you from the anti Trump camp, take a minute and reflect on your ridiculous and shameful behavior. Trump is not your president, what he does or say’s is none of your business unless you are American. Every chance you get you are on here attacking him.Just like all bullies you call him names, a person you know nothing about, except what you read in MSN, the biggest fake news source on the planet, who have an agenda against Trump. Who do you work for?, do you get paid to demonize this man? just like the fake protesters all over America, paid to come out and protest against Donald Trump by sinister organisations. You are all so pathetic, not a brain cell between you. But no matter what his haters throw at him, he smiles and soldiers on, he does not care, he was elected to do a job and he is going to do it. A remarkable man.
@Tom&Gerry: Go away gobshi1te.. Breitbart and fox are more your crowd.. where the IQ is closer to the hour of the day.
Guess he won’t be opening any KGB Soviet Fried Chicken branches on any golf courses any time soon so.
If he sent home thousands with no work what’s he doing. Minding the shop
@Paul Coughlan: It is estimated that the shutdown will cost $6,000,000,000 a week.
The 8 year old speaks.
Where is Clark Kent when you want him
have your say