US government in partial shutdown over wall funding

Federal agencies prepare for indefinite closure, hundreds of thousands to stop work amid impasse over Trump’s border wall.

Vice President Mike Pencedeparts with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, and incoming White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney as they depart for the night without a bill that would pay for President Donald Trump's border wall.

The U.S. government partially shut down early Saturday after lawmakers failed to reach a spending deal that centered on whether to fund construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The impasse put the government on track to close about a quarter of its offices, an outcome likely to have little immediate effect because it falls on an extended holiday weekend. It is the third shutdown this year.

The move will trigger Christmas-season furloughs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, but the initial impact was expected to be small as negotiations continued between the White House and Congress.

Mick Mulvaney, head of the White House Office of Management and Budget, notified agencies in a late-night memo Friday that a shutdown was imminent, and they “should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations.” The impact will initially be muted. Most government offices are closed on weekends, and Monday and Tuesday are federal holidays. Critical functions like border security, federal benefits and airport operations will continue, as will mail delivery.

Leaders at nine federal agencies, including the State, Transportation and Justice Departments, will begin implementing contingency plans to prepare for an indefinite closure.

About 380,000 employees will be forced to take unpaid leave, also known as furlough, while another 420,000 workers deemed essential would work without pay.

For example, the overwhelming majority of workers at the Housing and Urban Development Department, Consumer Product Safety Commission and National Park Service would be furloughed, according to agency contingency plans.

On Wednesday, the first working day of the shutdown, furloughed employees generally have four hours to clean out their desks, put up “out of office” notices, secure property and turn in mobile devices. After that, workers aren’t supposed to send email or do any type of work until their office reopens.

Essential workers, such as air-traffic controllers, prison guards, weather-service forecasters and food-safety inspectors, will continue coming to work. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, Forest Service firefighters, border patrol agents and Transportation Security Administration workers will also keep working through any temporary closure. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe won’t be affected.

Congress in the past has voted to pay furloughed workers’ back pay once funding is restored, though this isn’t guaranteed and can pinch workers with limited savings. Essential workers who remain on the job will eventually get paid, but not until the shutdown ends.

Also, some federal contractors will face payment delays and won’t get paid for time lost during the shutdown.

“Playing politics with the federal budget threatens the livelihoods of working people,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Friday. “Losing pay is devastating at any time of the year, but especially during the holiday season.” A shutdown won’t affect the U.S. Postal Service or the delivery of Social Security checks or federal retirement benefits. Some national parks may still be open to visitors, but workers will stop providing visitor services, including trash collection, campground operations and road maintenance. Visitor facilities -- including restrooms -- will be closed.

IMPASSE OVER THE WALL

Frustrated by President Trump’s vacillations during the week, lawmakers reached a procedural agreement Friday that they wouldn’t take another vote until a deal had been struck between the White House, GOP and Democratic congressional leaders.

The House adjourned around 7 p.m. Friday and the Senate followed an hour later. Both chambers plan to reopen Saturday at noon, and negotiations between White House officials and congressional leaders were expected to continue during the day.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., talks with reporters as they work to pass a bill that would pay for President Donald Trump's border wall and avert a partial government shutdown.

The discussions focused on the package of seven spending bills that would fund the government through September, including a bipartisan Senate measure funding the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the border wall.

In the negotiations, some lawmakers were advocating for $1.3 billion in border security, others for $1.6 billion, Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) said.

Mr. Trump has said he won’t sign any measure that doesn’t provide $5 billion for the wall and lawmakers are uncertain he would be willing to commit to any compromise.

Shortly before the government funding expired, Mr. Trump released a video in which he said, “We’re going to have a shutdown” and again sought to blame Democrats. He said a border wall -- or a “slat fence” -- is necessary for the nation’s security, and asked Democrats to negotiate. “The shutdown hopefully will not last long.” It wasn’t yet clear if leaders would be able to reach an agreement funding the government through September or fall back on another stopgap measure or remain stuck in a shutdown. They also were discussing what kind of restrictions would be in place around the $1.6 billion in border security.

Mr. Durbin said Friday that lawmakers were planning to go home, with the assumption that when a deal is reached between leaders of both chambers and Mr. Trump, it should be able to pass by unanimous consent without lawmakers present to vote. Leaders of both chambers told lawmakers they would be given 24 hours’ notice before a roll-call vote.

In the House, Rep. Mark Meadows (R., N.C.) chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said he wouldn’t support a deal limited to $1.6 billion in border security but suggested it could be “part of a larger conversation.” “Most conservatives are not supportive of going to a $1.6 [billion] restrictive border wall funding measure,” he said, referring to the Senate’s bipartisan bill. But if Mr. Trump were on board with a deal, that would give House GOP leaders more political room to bring a bipartisan bill to the House floor, even if some conservatives opposed it.

The expiration of seven spending bills loomed over a hectic Friday that saw senators rush back into town to consider a measure that passed the House the night before.

Earlier Friday, Mr. Trump had urged Republican senators to get behind the House bill, which included $5.7 billion for the wall.

A procedural vote on the House bill passed after more than five hours, with an agreement to continue negotiations and not hold further votes until the White House and both chambers had reached a deal.

Any spending measure would need 60 votes in the Senate, giving Democrats leverage because of the GOP’s slim 51-49 majority.

Friday’s drama capped a weekslong back-and-forth as Mr. Trump sought to fulfill a core campaign pledge to build a border wall just as the shutdown possibility threatened to keep lawmakers from leaving for their year-end recess.

The House had been expected to pass the Senate stopgap bill, but it instead passed a spending measure on Thursday night that included the $5.7 billion for wall funding, largely on party lines, when conservative House lawmakers pushed back and Mr. Trump was lambasted by conservative commentators.

Late-afternoon Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) met with Vice President Mike Pence, White House budget director and incoming chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner at the administration’s request, a Schumer aide said.

Mr. Schumer told the men that Democrats wouldn’t support any proposal with funding for a border wall, but said the two proposals that contained border-security money that Democratic leaders offered the president last week are still possible, as is the stopgap bill already passed by the Senate.

Mr. Trump, for his part, on Friday tried to shift blame to Democrats for a potential shutdown, even as he said last week that he would shoulder responsibility.

Senators on both sides of the aisle simmered Friday, arguing that Mr. Trump had reneged on an understanding with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he would sign the “clean” stopgap bill passed by the Senate. “Are Republicans really going to trust the guidance that comes out of the White House on a go-forward basis? This is a juvenile place we find ourselves,” said Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) Mr. McConnell wore a red button reading “Senate Cranky Coalition,” saying it reflected the “unanimous position” of Senate Republicans forced to return to Washington.

Democrats lambasted Mr. Trump for, in their view, ceding to pressure from commentators who criticized his willingness to accept a spending bill without border wall funding.

“They ought to invite Sean Hannity in to negotiate this,” Mr. Durbin said, referring to the Fox News personality and Trump confidant. “He’s obviously the one calling the shots for the president.” A contingent of Republicans were encouraging the president to hold up the bill to get his wall funding.

“We’re strongly aligned, the senators and the president, that it’s time to provide the funding to secure the southern border,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R., Mont.).

The president at one point encouraged Mr. McConnell to change the rules of the Senate to enable spending bills to pass with a majority instead of the 60 votes required to clear procedural hurdles.

Senate Republicans immediately voiced opposition to that idea on Twitter, and a McConnell spokesman said the leader supports current Senate rules.

- Wall Street Journal