US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a “very long” government shutdown just hours ahead of a midnight deadline, calling on the Senate to pass spending legislation that includes his $5-billion demand for border wall funding and seeking to shift blame for a holiday showdown to Democrats.
The Republican-led Senate had already approved funds for the government through February 8 without money for the wall. But Trump pushed Republican allies in the House of Representatives on Thursday to use the short-term funding bill as leverage to force through the border wall money despite Democratic objections.
In a series of 10 early-morning tweets on Friday, the President urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up the amended bill from the House. Trump, who last week said he would be “proud” to preside over a shutdown, sought to blame Senate Democrats, whose support is needed to reach the 60 votes needed for passage.
Republicans currently have a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate.
“If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Senator Mitch McConnell should fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything,” he tweeted. ”He will need Democrat votes, but as shown in the House, good things happen.”
Three-quarters of government programmes are fully funded through next September 30, including those in the Defence Department, Labour Department and Health and Human Services.
But funding for other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and Agriculture Department, is set to expire at midnight on Friday. A shutdown would leave a number of federal workers without a paycheck at Christmas.