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US PRESIDENT DONALD Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on his opponents ahead of a new effort to end the government shutdown.
A divided US Congress is hoping to end a budget impasse tonight before hundreds of thousands of federal workers are forced to start the week at home without pay.
The impact of the shutdown that began at midnight on Friday has been largely limited so far, closing sites like New York’s Statue of Liberty, but the effect will start to become acute if the stalemate runs into tomorrow.
Republicans and Democrats have traded bitter recriminations over who is to blame for the failure to pass a stop-gap funding measure by a 20 January deadline, a year to the day since Trump took office.
“Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our Military and Safety at the Border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to pour into our nation unchecked,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
He also encouraged the Senate’s Republican leaders to invoke a procedural manoeuvre known as the “nuclear option” to change the chamber’s rules to allow passage of a budget by a simple majority of 51 votes to end the shutdown.
Senate leaders have been wary of such a move in the past, as it could come back to haunt them the next time the other party holds a majority.
Undermining Trump’s ‘victory lap’
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney accused some Democrats of wanting to “deny the president sort of the victory lap of the anniversary of his inauguration” — echoing a complaint Trump earlier made on Twitter.
“There’s other Democrats who want to see the president give the State of the Union during a shutdown,” Mulvaney said on Fox News, referring to the nationally televised address Trump is set to deliver on 30 January.
However, White House legislative director Marc Short told ABC that progress is being made, and Mulvaney also said there is a chance to have the government open before the workweek begins tomorrow morning.
Late yesterday top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell set a key vote for a funding measure for 1am local time (6am Irish time) tomorrow, with both houses of Congress set to reconvene today.
“I assure you we will have the vote at 1am on Monday, unless there is a desire to have it sooner,” he said in a statement.
At the heart of the dispute is the thorny issue of undocumented immigration.
Democrats have accused Republicans of poisoning chances of a deal and pandering to Trump’s populist base by refusing to fund a programme that protects an estimated 700,000 ao-called Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who arrived as children — from deportation.
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The Democrats are making Trump look good again
@Shaun Gallagher: Look at his Tweet, what a complete simpleton Trump is!
@Shaun Gallagher: Nope, by a margin of 20% Americans believe that Trump is to blame for this shutdown. He’s also been criticised by Republicans for flip-flopping in the last few days.
@John Smith: what poll was that?
@William Bright: ABC. Now do your usual “fake news” reply without checking the facts
@John Smith: yawn..
@John Smith: Are you quoting the same polling experts that said Trump could never be POTUS?
@Shaun Gallagher:
The Democrats make Mussolini and the Fascists look good.
@Fintan O’flaois: And if that same poll laid the blame at Democrats it would then be believable? Selection bias at its finest.
@Shaun Gallagher: He has a majority in both houses. Managing hip get enough people to oppose him is quite an achievement.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: *to get
@William Bright: Never mind the poll, He said it himself 5 years ago on Fox news.
Have to laugh at 5-time dodge drafter Trump pretending to be a supporter of the military.
@Seán Ó Briain:
Obama was a true war hero though.
@FrankDapavia: Besides the fact that there was no draft in his eligible years, Obama was no John McCain….
yet McCain wasn’t a hero either according to Trump, because ‘he got caught’.
@FrankDapavia: “Obama was a true war hero though.”
Obama never dodged the draft. He was 13 when the Vietnam war ended.
Nice try, fake account.
@FrankDapavia: Neither of them were war heroes or heroes of any sort, except to simpletons, of course.
If you believe in protecting a nation’s border, you’re a “populist”. It’s scary to think these people are setting the tone
@Tommy Hawk: Nothing to do with protecting the borders and everything to do with deporting children.
@Tommy Hawk: It’s scarier that you and all the other Trump worshippers think he’s great. The guy is a complete idiot.
@Ben Gunn:
How did those children get into the US again? Oh yeah, illegally crossing the border.
@Alt Right Crybaby: Trump is a genius, bigly. When will you snowflakes stop crying and get on with your lives
@Thought for Food: They were f***ing children. They didn’t break the law, their parents did. Punishing the children of illegals for the crimes of their parents? That’s flat out immoral.
Just so you know, even Trump acknowledges that that’s a stupid idea.
@Malachi: they broke the law and now many are grown up loudmouths rampaging and waving Mexico flags.
@Thought for Food: I know that you didn’t know that there was DACA people serving in the military,but here is a tweet from your hero:
“Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!”
@William Bright: Thanks for that excellent contribution, William. Really appreciate your input, insightful as always.
@Tommy Hawk: You’re the only Snowflake here crying about other people!
@Alt Right Crybaby: That was almost a cogent statement. Fair play to ya
@Tommy Hawk: You’re getting hysterical now, relax, if you can’t handle online comments sections maybe switch off your internet conmection and go to your safe space, jeez, what a crybaby.
@Alt Right Crybaby: Projecting much?
@Tommy Hawk: Nope :)
@William Bright: you do realise that the age of criminal responsibility is a thing right?
@Thought for Food: actually you are wrong. Their parents did but a lot of the kids were born in the US. Would you kick them out?
@Thought for Food: In the interest of clarity, many of those children were born in the US to illegal immigrants.
@Tommy Hawk: Protecting the borders from what? The vast, vast majority of gun deaths in the U. S. Are perpetrated by people who are born and bred there.
If Trump wants a deal why is repeatedly insulting Democrats? This could drag on for a very long time if he doesn’t change his bully boy tactics.
@Larry Doyle: The Republicans have control of all branches of government. This is the first shut down in US history that wasn’t the result of a split senate. It’s not that he can’t make a deal with the Democrats. He can’t make a deal with his own party.
It’s hilarious after all that nonsense his fans spouted about how good he’d be at making deals. Can’t even agree with himself half the time.
@Bryan Kelly: True and as the orange one himself would tweet “SAD”.
The bipartisan deal had the support of six senators….Main disagreement seems to be on the extended family of the dreamers….Do the 700000 once they get citizenship have the right to bring their extended family in….In Ireland we have strict rules on bringing in extended family for immigrants who get citizenship….That is what Trump wants an end to chain migration….
@John003: The bipartisan deal would’ve restricted chain migration, ended the visa lottery and provided funding for the border wall.
That wasn’t enough for Donald “Art of the Deal” Trump, though, he decided a shutdown was a much better idea than using some political intelligence.
@Malachi: it would have restricted but not ended chain migration. The US needs a merit based immigration system like Canada or Australis, it would be great for the highly educated Irish population.
@William Bright: The deal that was put together actually scrapped the visa lottery system in favour of a merit-based allocation. Trump still dumped it, knowing a federal shutdown was imminent.
Trump decided that a win-win-win deal (based on his own criteria) wasn’t worth it. Remember all that stuff about “he’ll be good at making deals”? Yeah, scrap that.
Funnily enough, Trump stated in 2013, when Republicans forced a shutdown, that if he were president such a shutdown would never happen because he’s “so great at making deals”.
@John Smith: A very stable genius, into the bargain.
Democrats, who are elected to represent American citizens, have shutdown the US government over illegal aliens. Madness.
@William Bright: It is not about illegals, it is about children protected under DACA.
@William Bright: Nice try, but 4 Republican senators stated they wouldn’t vote with Trump because he keeps changing his stance. BTW, was it madness when Republicans did the same thing in 2013 to Obama, which lasted for 16 days?
Sitting in Newark airport waiting on the 530 flight to Dublin. I seen the protests in Morristown New Jersey on Saturday all nut balls.Sitting in a bar on Saturday night with the locals they all back Trump to stop the people coming in and under cut there wages ,I heard that from whites blacks, and South Americans.The people against Trump will ruin America and it is happening in Europe to ,what’s wrong with protecting your boarders
@high ho silver: *saw / *their / *too /*borders
Yup. Definite Trump supporter! ^^^^
@Alt Right Crybaby: I have no problem with people coming into Ireland once the have the proper documents and a valid passport,I couldn’t leave Ireland with out my passport and I wouldn’t have got into America without without the proper documentation.Im married a non national and she couldn’t get into Ireland without having a job waiting and money in bank to support her she not from Europe .She couldn’t believe the amount unskilled people let into Ireland to become taxi drivers and security guards you clown
@Alt Right Crybaby: Grammer Nazi…defo a leftist fascist
@Censorship is modern day book burning: *Grammar ^^^^ Another Trumpanzee!
@Alt Right Crybaby: Jesus you’re easy one to catch in the net…thanks for proving me point ; )
@high ho silver: U’re not Irish, u’re only pretending, “with out” ! Seriously English is not ur 1st language..
@Marko: Shut up you clown
The longer this lasts the better.
Shumer – Foreigners First.
Trump – AMERICANS FIRST !
@Joe Caulfield: Republicans want Shumer to be the most powerful politician in America.WOW!
@Joe Caulfield: I’m sure Americans would find your devotion to their country endearing, now kindly remove your head from your…
Unfortunately, what those Dem’s need, in order to switch on, is another apocolypse.
@Paul Culligan: another apocalypse, when was the first one?
@Paul Culligan: With a narcissistic whinger who has a poor attention span and lashes out at any criticism of him in the White House, that apocalypse might not be too far off.
Popcorn time!
In fairness to Trump, he’s giving ye some amount of stories! Theres nothing more the journal would want than to see him get another term, easy pickings!
Bozo trump
Anthony 2020
Kim Jong-un has just put North Korea on red alert.
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