Star Metro - US government shutdown to drag into next week

Federal agencies have been out of money since Wednesday -- with a wide range of public services crippled -- as a result of deadlocked talks in Congress on how to keep the lights on.

Tourist sites such as the Washington Monument have closed, key data on employment has been delayed and some official websites have ground to a halt, although other areas of government have yet to be affected.

Some 750,000 employees are likely to be put on furlough -- a kind of enforced leave with backpay after the shutdown -- as the funding crisis deepens.

Senate leaders have no plans to keep the upper chamber of Congress in session over the weekend, meaning Friday's vote on a short-term fix was the last chance of the week to end the crisis.

At the center of the standoff is a Democratic demand for an extension of health care subsidies that are due to expire -- meaning sharply increased costs for millions of low-income Americans.

Republicans -- who control the legislature and the White House but need Democratic votes on government funding bills -- have announced no plans to address the issue.

The Democrats are trying to force Republicans' hand by blocking a Trump-backed funding resolution that needs a handful of their votes.

The White House said the Democratic posture amounted to "an intentional sabotage of our country."

"This madness must end," Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "President Trump and Republicans are calling on Democrats to reopen the government immediately on behalf of the American public."

Amid widespread pessimism over the possibility of a quick solution, Republicans voiced in Congress hopes that the latest failure might push some moderates in the opposition to cross the aisle.

"Hopefully over the weekend, they'll have a chance to think about it," Republican Senate leader John Thune told reporters at the US Capitol.

"Maybe some of these conversations start to result in something to where we can start moving some votes and actually get this thing passed."

- Blame game -

Complicating efforts to strike a deal is the threat from Trump to turn thousands of the planned furloughs into permanent redundancies, strip funding and slash benefits as he ramps up pressure on the Democrats.

The administration has also been accused of allowing government officials to use partisan language in messaging about the shutdown after the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday posted a notice on its website blaming the shutdown on the "Radical Left."

The New York Times reported Friday that some furloughed Education Department staff had noticed their out-of-office email messages being altered without their knowledge to point the finger Democrats.

"Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations," the emails said, according to the Times.

With an announcement on layoffs expected any day, Trump's budget chief Russ Vought is planning to brief Republican senators next week.

The House of Representatives has been in recess and Republican Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he has been meeting the president ahead of its return to discuss plans for layoffs.

Johnson accused Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of pushing the shutdown because the veteran New Yorker is "terrified" of left-wing activists grabbing his seat in 2028 elections.

"Chuck Schumer is a far-left, progressive politician but he's not far enough left for this base and so he's got to show a fight against the president," Johnson said.

L.Girard--SMC