President Trump faces threat of government shutdown over spending bill

THE timing couldn’t be worse, but as Donald Trump prepares to mark 100 days in office, he is facing the prospect of a disastrous government shutdown.

SATURDAY marks 100 days in office for President Trump. But the symbolic date could be a disaster if Congress doesn’t pass a bill to continue funding the Government by Friday.

Critical negotiations to secure the budget have been ongoing, with President Trump wanting to attach money to build the Mexican border wall to the bill.

But despite the fact a Republican is in the White House, and the party holds a majority in both the House and the Senate, it looked likely that there weren’t enough people willing to pass the budget with money for the wall attached to it.

If the budget isn’t passed, funding for most Federal government agencies is immediately stopped — meaning everything from Defence to National Parks could be severely affected.

This morning, Republicans relented, and have drawn up a budget deal that doesn’t include money for the wall.

However, both sides have a way to go to ensure the funding is secured by Friday; with parties divided over whether they should continue to provide subsidies for Obamacare.

The negotiations come at a critical time of tension globally over North Korean military threats and US air strikes on Syria, raising fears about the ability for the US government to pay defence contractors and military staff in the coming weeks.

Pentagon spokesman air force Lt. Colonel Eric Badger told CNBC it was “taking appropriate steps to prepare for the unlikely event of a lapse in appropriations,” but would not speculate on what could be impacted.

Earlier this week Trump suggested he may delay funding to the wall to avert the looming deadline in a move that was praised by Democrats. However he also tweeted that “the Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth (and many others)!

“If. the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be! #BuildTheWall,” he said on Twitter.

Don't let the fake media tell you that I have changed my position on the WALL. It will get built and help stop drugs, human trafficking etc.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2017

The Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth (and many others)! If

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2017

....the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be!#BuildTheWall

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2017

US President Donald Trump has indicated he will delay seeking funding for his proposed wall with Mexico until September. Picture: AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM.

SO IS THE US FACING A SHUTDOWN?

Midnight on Friday 28 April is the deadline for Congress to pass a $1.3 trillion spending bill that requires bipartisan support to keep the government functioning, including various departments ranging including defence and healthcare.

With Republicans backing down from attaching wall funding to the bill, it looks more likely the bill will be passed — but at this stage there is no agreement.

If the bill isn’t passed it will be a PR nightmare for his administration, coinciding with his 100 days in office.

The threat of delays for defence funding will also be unpopular given the extreme tension with North Korea that has seen US forces sent to the region.

On Monday White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he wouldn’t “guarantee anything” but felt “very confident” that those working on the deal will “come to an agreement by the end of Friday.”

The US Congress will vote on a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown by midnight Friday. Picture: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File.

HAVEN’T WE BEEN HERE BEFORE?

If talk of a shutdown sounds familiar, that’s because it happened in 2013 under the Obama administration when Congress failed to pass a spending bill amid a stoush over money for Obamacare.

The government was shutdown for 16 days with 850,000 workers on unpaid “furlough” except for those carrying out essential functions. It meant there was one person to patrol the 9000km border with Canada, delayed medical trials, and national parks were closed.

SO WILL THE WALL EVER BE BUILT?

Trump will mark 100 days in office on Saturday and is unlikely to want that day to coincide with a government shutdown. Picture: AFP/ JIM WATSON

Estimates for the cost of the 3000 kilometre wall between the US and Mexico range from $15 billion to $33 billion, however Mr Trump has insisted he can do it for $13 billion, or more if it’s “super-duper, higher, better, better security”.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York welcomed Monday’s reports the wall could be delayed.

“It’s good for the country that President Trump is taking the wall off the table in these negotiations,” he said.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he supported more security funding but “a 2,200-mile wall, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of support for it.”

TRUMP’S OTHER PR NIGHTMARE

The budget negotiations isn’t the only crisis facing the Trump government this week. Overnight a Federal judge essentially blocked the President’s ban on ‘sanctuary cities’ like New York.

There are a number of so-called sanctuary cities throughout the US. They offer a safe house for undocumented immigrants, because city police limit their co-operation with Federal immigration officers, meaning people are more likely to be able to live under the radar and avoid deportation.

President Trump wanted to block federal funding to those cities.

But overnight a federal judge in California issued a temporary ruling stating Trump’s administration had no authority to attach new conditions to federal funds — meaning it would be illegal for them to withhold the money.

The judge’s decision will remain while a lawsuit filed by two of the sanctuary cities — San Francisco and Santa Clara County — works its way through the courts.

People around the country have protested Donald Trump’s order to shut down sanctuary cities. Overnight a federal judge blocked the order to withhold funding from communities that limit co-operation with U.S. immigration authorities. Picture: Jeff Chiu / AP