Trump Warns of U.S. Government Shutdown; Temporary Budget Approved by House of Representatives

On Thursday, December 20, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, stated that he would not sign the Congress-approved temporary budget due to the lack of funding for the construction of the border wall with Mexico. This comes as the House of Representatives approved a $5.7 billion plan for the border wall added to the temporary budget bill during its review on Thursday evening. The temporary budget was approved with 217 votes in favor and 185 against. This bill is set to be voted on in the U.S. Senate as well. Donald Trump welcomed the approval of the temporary budget and the border wall funding on his Twitter account. If the temporary budget is not signed by the end of Friday, parts of the government will shut down. The U.S. President is seeking $5 billion for the construction of the border wall between the United States and Mexico, which is one of his campaign promises from the 2016 election. Reuters reports that this could be Trump's last chance to fulfill the promise of building the border wall, which is significant for him in the 2020 presidential election. This session of the House of Representatives, which has a Republican majority, will end in December 2018 (in 10 days), and a new session with a Democratic majority will begin in January. It was previously reported that Trump was in favor of a temporary budget to fund the government until February. According to the report, Trump's request for funding for the border wall led Republican congressional leaders to visit the White House on Thursday. Paul Ryan, the Republican majority leader in the House, told reporters after leaving the White House on Thursday afternoon: 'We are going back to add border security issues and prevent the government from shutting down because we want to reach an agreement.' Reuters states that Trump is seeking more than $5 billion for the border wall plan. However, it seems that this House bill may face challenges in the Senate. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, told reporters on Thursday that everyone knows the bill currently in the House will not pass in the Senate. Earlier, Trump had threatened during a meeting with Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the House, and Chuck Schumer that either the funding for the wall must be approved or he would shut down the government. Pelosi stated that Trump does not have the necessary votes in the House to secure billions of dollars to fulfill his promise regarding the construction of the wall.