US Govt Shuts Down on 1st Anniversary of Trump Presidency as Democrats, Republicans Fail to Reach Consensus
"Our lawful citizens are now hostage over their reckless demands for illegal immigrants," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.
Washington, Jan 20: The United States government will remain shut, at least till Monday, as the Congress failed to reach a consensus to avoid the filibuster vote proposed by the prime opposition -- Democrats.
The filibuster was moved by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer to stall President Donald Trump's controversial bill which would end up deporting 'Dreamers' -- the illegal immigrants who entered the US soil as minors. The controversial legislation will lead to the deportation of nearly 7,00,000 immigrants, including over 8,000 of Indian-origin.
With the passage of filibuster, the funds needed for the functioning of the government has been stalled. While the military personnel, state healthcare workers and other uniformed employees will continue to work, thousands of other federal employees have been furloughed.
The filibuster vote required a total of 60 voices in opposition to be blocked. However, only 48 voted against it, wheres 50 voted in favour. While two Democrats defied the party line and voted against the filibuster, four Republicans voted in its favour.
Although President Trump is yet to react to the fallout of the mid-night proceedings of the Congress, he had posted a pessimistic tweet ahead of the vote.
White House sharply reacted to the government shutdown, blaming the Democrats for "jeopardising the lives of millions of US citizens" due to their politics of safeguarding the illegal immigrants.
"Our lawful citizens are now hostage over their reckless demands for illegal immigrants," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. "This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators," she added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 20, 2018 01:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).