US shutdown: Donald Trump hits out at Democrats for 'playing politics' on presidency anniversary

'The Democrats wanted to give me a nice present'
Ella Wills20 January 2018

Donald Trump has accused the Democrats of "putting politics before border and military safety" as the US government was shut down on the anniversary of his presidency.

The US president tweeted on Saturday: "Democrats are far more concerned with illegal immigrants than they are with our great military or safety at our dangerous southern border. They could have easily made a deal but decided to play shutdown politics instead."

Mr Trump added: "This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present."

Donald Trump's one-year anniversary of his presidency was marred by a US government shutdown
AFP/Getty Images

In a series of tweets Mr Trump accused Democrat lawmakers of putting politics before the interests of the people of America.

But leading Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, has pointed the finger at the Republican president.

"It's almost like you were rooting for a shutdown," said Mr Schumer of Mr Trump after the Senate refused to approve a shutdown-averting funding bill.

Mr Trump's twitter rampage came after Congress failed to reach a deal on funding for federal agencies in a dramatic night in Washington.

President Donald Trump's first year in office - in pictures

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The deal would have provided short term funding for government until February 16.

It caused government to shut down on the first anniversary of Mr Trump's inauguration as president.

And the US government technically ran out of money at midnight on Friday.

Mr Trump was reportedly forced to cancel his planned trip to Florida in celebration of his year as president at his Mar-a-Lago resort as a result.

Most Democrats opposed the bill because their efforts to include protections for hundreds of thousands of mostly young immigrants, known as Dreamers, were rejected by President Donald Trump and Republican leaders.

Minutes before Friday's midnight deadline for a funding deal, Trump's White House issued a statement blaming Democrats for the shutdown. "We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands," it said.

Leaders have said they are committed to getting a quick agreement and agreed to reopen negotiations on Saturday.

Until a funding deal is worked out, scores of federal agencies across the country will be unable to operate, and hundreds of thousands of "non-essential" federal workers will be put on temporary unpaid leave.

"Essential" employees who deal with public safety and national security will keep working.

That includes more than 1.3 million people on active duty in the military who will be required to work but will not be paid until funding is renewed or handled with separate legislation.

The last US shutdown lasted for 16 days in October 2013.

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