US government shuttered: Congress fails to pass budget

Most US government agencies will be closed Monday after Congress failed on the weekend to pass a temporary spending measure.  

Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, said the upper chamber was adjourned until vote at noon (1700 GMT) Monday on a short-term budget to allow non-essential offices to reopen.  

Senator Charles Schumer, leader of the Democratic faction demanding concessions on immigration policy, said late Sunday that talks would continue ahead of the scheduled vote to resolve the shutdown, which began Saturday.  

“We have yet to reach an agreement on a path forward that would be acceptable for both sides,” he said on the Senate floor.  

A procedural vote in the 100-seat Senate requires a super-majority of 60 members to halt debate and allow a formal vote on the legislation, which opposition Democrats refused to support.  

As part of the budget fight, Democratic lawmakers have sought legislation to prevent the deportation of a broad category of young immigrants who were brought illegally into the United States as children.   
Trump in September cancelled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which has nearly 800,000 participants.  The shutdown, which had minimal impact on the weekend but will become more pressing Monday, is the first under a president whose own party controls both chambers 
of Congress.  The shutdown is estimated to cost 1.5 billion dollars a day. Some 850,000 federal employees are set to be off work without pay.  
Washington (dpa) 
23 Jan 2018