US President Trump led government on Wednesday rejected a proposal put forward by the opposition Democratic party to end the protracted partial government shutdown. The White House asserted that any plan without a provision for funding the United State President's long-promised border wall is a non-starter.
The over 10-day long partial government shutdown starting on December 22 has affected 800,000 federal employees, who have either been furloughed or are working without pay. Trump cancelled his planned trip to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to spend time with family for Christmas and New Year. Ahead of the start of the new Congress on January 3, in which the Democrats would enjoy majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi proposed to end government shutdown which would have reopened all government agencies except for the Department of Homeland Security with full fiscal-year funding until September 30.
Pelosi said in a letter: ""The second bill would extend the Department of Homeland Security's funding through February 8, which is the date the Senate voted for unanimously. It is important to note that these bills contain no new wall funding,." White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a late-night statement: "President Trump made a serious, good faith offer to Democrats to open the government, address the crisis at our border, and protect all Americans. We have heard nothing back from the Democrats, who so far have refused to compromise."
