US govt shuts down after midnight deadline passes

The government shut down early Saturday morning on the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration after Congress failed to meet a midnight deadline to renew funding.

WASHINGTON

"Perhaps across the aisle some of our Democratic colleagues are feeling proud of themselves, but what has their filibuster accomplished? What has it accomplished? The answer is simple: Their very own government shutdown," The White House in a statement lashed out at Democrats for holding "our lawful citizens hostage" over their "reckless" demands to give legal status to hundreds of thousands of young undocument immigrants.

"This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement."When Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders we will reopen negotiations on immigration reform."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaking on the floor, blamed the GOP, which controls all levers of government. He singled out Trump as indecisive and unable to come to a deal.The last shutdown in 2013, lasted for 16 days as Republicans tried unsuccessfully to force changes to the Affordable Care Act. A government shutdown causing employee furloughs has never occurred under unified party control of Congress and the White House.

"This is the greatest country in the world, but we do have some really stupid people representing it from time to time," he said. "I probably have gone too far saying that, but it's true and it's disappointing to me."

At 7 p.m., about 150 protesters gathered outside the Capitol to hear Democrats promise not to back any spending deal that did not grant legal status to "dreamers."

At the White House, Trump delayed his departure for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The president had intended to leave Washington late Friday afternoon ahead of a lavish celebration of his first year in office that is planned for Saturday night.