US government shutdown to continue next week

Washington: The partial government shutdown is likely to continue for the next week as the United States Senate was adjourned until Monday, while the House of Representatives further added that they were not expecting any vote this week in order to reopen the government.

As the shutdown entered the sixth day, The Hill quoted House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) as saying, "that no votes are expected in the House this week."

"As the House awaits Senate action on remaining FY19 appropriations, we will aim to provide 24 hours' notice ahead of any expected votes in the House," Scalise's added.

The shutdown was imminent as US President Donald Trump remained at odds with the lawmakers over border wall funding of USD 5 billion with Mexico.

"The President has made clear that any bill to fund the government must adequately fund border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs, criminals, MS-13 gang members, child smugglers and human traffickers into our communities - and protect the American people," a statement released by the White House read.

However, the statement had clearly stated the US President was not in favour of any shutdown but he would not back out unless the crisis over the border wall funding is sorted.

"The President does not want the government to remain shut down, but he will not sign a proposal that does not first prioritize our county's safety and security," the statement further read.

On December 6, the Congress had approved a two-week stopgap funding bill to keep the government agencies, including Homeland Security and State Department running to prevent a partial government shutdown till December 21. This would be the first time in 40 years that the US government will have been closed three times in a year, according to CNN reports.