It all comes down to whether the US Congress will be able to pass the funding proposal.

If they are unable to do so – which just might happen – the federal government will shut down on Friday.

Yeah, that’s where the US is at right now – and you thought we had it bad.

Although lawmakers had a similar deadline last month (and when they discussed the wall last year), “they passed a continuing resolution December 21 to keep the federal government funded another month,” reports CNN:

A shutdown, however, doesn’t mean every federally funded agency, program and service will grind to a halt. Whoever works for agencies and departments that are considered nonessential, including agencies that pay out small business loans and process passport requests, will cease to work until Congress is able to agree on a bill for the federal budget.

Of course, the big hold up is all thanks to Donald Trump. You see, the Democrats are insisting that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme be considered before the budget can be agreed on.

They want to include protections for immigrants who entered the US illegally as children, which is what spurred Trump’s shithole comments last week.

If the inclusion doesn’t happen, then the Dems won’t be playing ball, reports Vanity Fair:

Even if Trump decides what he wants (beyond funding for a big, beautiful wall), his edict will inevitably be met with doubt: after he vowed to work with [Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and Nancy Pelosi on a DACA fix in September, he soon reversed course, tweeting that “the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are reportedly having second thoughts about taking him at his word. “For bipartisanship, you have to stick to the same position for more than a couple hours,” Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy told Politico, echoing the sentiments of Senator Lindsey Graham, who noted, “You can’t fix this problem without the president,” but blamed Trump’s “180-degree” flip on “his staff.”

However, as Senator Dick Durbin noted:

“He’s never done a bipartisan deal as president.”

Yet through it all, Trump’s main concern is still the military. Tweeting twice on the topic, this is his most recent:

You are the dangerous Lottery, Trump.

If the government were to shut down, the military are deemed so essential that they will still have to report for duty. The only issue is that they potentially will not be paid during a shutdown.

These departments, however, won’t be operational:

• National parks, zoos or museums, those will be closed. Planning a holiday? Sorry.
• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, meaning if you wanted a gun permit, you’ll have to wait until the shutdown is over.
• Essential services, such as Social Security, air traffic control and the Transportation Security Administration, will continue to be funded even if some employees of those agencies are not.
• And the US Postal Service won’t stop serving residents — you’ll still get your mail.

Tragic – but that’s the way things are looking.

Of course, if there is no deal, then “White House officials are reportedly planning to pin the blame not just on Democrats, but on all of Congress”.

Because Trump’s never at fault.

[source:cnn&vanityfair]