US shutdown threat piles pressure on government hit by Donald Trump cuts

Facing a Friday night deadline to fund the government or allow it to start winding down, the Senate is set to vote ahead of the midnight cut-off on a Trump-backed bill passed by the House of Representatives.

The deal would keep federal operations going for another six months, but Democrats are under pressure from their grassroots activists to defy Trump and reject a text they say is full of harmful spending cuts.
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer — who has long insisted that it is bad politics to shut down the government — said he would support the bill, a move seen as improving its chances of success.

«President Trump and Republicans leaders would like nothing more than to pull us into the mud of a protracted government shutdown. For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift,» Schumer said on the Senate floor.

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«It would be the best distraction he could ask for from his awful agenda. Right now, Donald Trump owns the chaos in the government.»

He was joined by Pennsylvania's John Fetterman, while other Democrats — worried that they would be blamed over a stoppage with no obvious exit ramp — also appeared ready to back down.

But Schumer has not explicitly told his troops which way to jump, telling reporters «each is making his or her own decision» and adding to the suspense of a vote that could still go either way.

'Fish or cut bait'

There have been four shutdowns where operations were affected for more than one business day, with the last occurring during Trump's first term.

During the disruption, up to 900,000 federal employees can be furloughed, while another million deemed essential workers — from air traffic controllers to police — work without pay.
Social Security and other benefits are