U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to quickly pass a spending bill to end a government shutdown in the United States, which entered its third day on Monday.
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In a post on his platform Truth Social, Trump said, “I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this bill and send it to my desk without delay. No amendments can be made at this time.”
The shutdown follows the collapse of negotiations between party representatives after the deaths of two protesters opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement practices, prompting Democrats to take a hardline stance.
On Friday night, the U.S. Senate passed a funding bill intended to limit the duration of the shutdown, approving five of the six budget sections, while the section related to the Department of Homeland Security will undergo further negotiations over the next two weeks.
However, the agreement drew criticism from some conservative Republicans who threatened to vote against it.
In his post, Trump said, “We will work together in good faith to address the issues raised, but we cannot endure another long, destructive, and pointless shutdown that will cause severe harm to our country,” referring to the 43-day shutdown last summer.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, expressed optimism that an agreement would be reached soon.
In a statement to Fox News, he said, “We will get this done by Tuesday; I am confident of that.”
However, the Speaker holds a very slim majority in the House and cannot afford to lose more than one Republican vote.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Monday that it is postponing the release of its employment report due to the partial government shutdown.
The department said, “Due to the partial federal government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will suspend data collection, processing, and publication,” noting that this affects the employment report originally scheduled for release on Friday.
AFP
