US Government shutdown explained – why did it start and how did it end?
DONALD Trump has reopened the US government ending the longest shutdown in the nation's history.
For 35 days, nine of the 15 main federal departments were largely shuttered, leaving 800,000 employees without paychecks. Here's what happened.
Why did Donald Trump shut down the US government?
Donald Trump shut down the US government on December 22 after Democrats refused to fund his border wall.
After threatening to shut down the government "for a very long time", President Trump refused to compromise on his demands for the funding on building the wall between the US and Mexico.
Democrats, who have taken over the House of Representatives after the November 2018 mid-terms, and some fellow Republicans insisted they would not give Trump the £3.95billion ($5.7 billion) he said he needed.
Congress members met on December 27 to discuss the issue and the House and Senate met on December 31.
The issue of whether or not to fund the wall prevented the passing of a government funding budget.
Trump's opponents have accused him of exaggerating the issue for political gain and claim there are better forms of border security than a wall.
He later climbed down from his demand for a border wall as his proposal to re-open the government failed.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a tweet that Trump will accept a “large down payment” on the border wall instead.
At the White House, President Donald Trump told reporters he'd support "a reasonable agreement".
He said he has "other alternatives" for getting wall funding, an apparent reference to his disputed claim that he could declare a national emergency.
This would allow him to authorise funds for the wall — which has an estimated price tag of $5.7billion (£4.3billion).
On January 25, Trump agreed to sign a measure to open the government for three weeks - until February 15.
The US President pledged to ensure employees receive their back pay as soon as possible.
What has been said about the shut down?
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has now predicted the latest shut down would be the last.
She shutdowns have become a "too hot to handle" issue for the Republicans.
“There will not be another shutdown. No, it’s not going to happen,” she said.
She had informed Trump that the House would not consider a resolution authorising a State of the Union address scheduled to be held on January 29 until the government has reopened.
He eventually delivered his address on February 5.
What has been the estimated cost of the shutdown
According to the Congressional Budget Office America’s economy lost $11 billion - twice the cost of the President's proposed wall.
A committee of Republicans and Democrats have scheduled an initial meeting on Wednesday, as they try to negotiate a compromise on border security before the next deadline on February 15.
Trump said he would be willing to shut down the government again if lawmakers do not reach a deal he finds acceptable on border security.
The President has also said he might declare a national emergency to get money for the border wall. Democrats would likely challenge that in court.
Democratic lawmakers said the CBO report served as a stark warning to Trump against another shutdown.
"Families across the nation are still trying to recover from a month of missing paycheques and overdue bills, but the president is already threatening a second shutdown if he doesn’t get his way," said Speaker Pelosi.
Over 420,000 federal employees across various agencies still worked during the government shutdown, as 75 per cent of the federal government is fully funded until September 2019.
Federal programmes still functioned, as did the military, border patrol, coast guard, federal judiciary, air traffic control and airport security.
The US Postal Service was unaffected by the government shutdown as it's an independent agency.
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Under the government shutdown, sections of these nine federal departments were closed along with the government:
- Department of the Treasury
- Department of Agriculture
- Homeland Security Department
- Department of the Interior
- Department of State
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Justice
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