Wall with Mexico: US Government Extends to Close the Border. The political stalemate in the US about a wall along the border with Mexico continues. The government has been partly closed since Saturday.
The shutdown means that nine ministries and a few government departments close. Some 380,000 civil servants do not have to come to work this week. Some 420,000 others in ‘essential functions’, such as border guards and postmen, continue working but have to wait for their money.
The problem is that the Senate, the House of Representatives and the White House must agree on the budget for the next month and a half. The stumbling block is the financing of a barrier along the southern border of the US.
Though the Republicans have the majority in both the House and the Senate, they are dependent on the Democrats to get this budget through. In the Senate, where the Republicans occupy 51 out of 100 seats, they need 60 votes to approve a law.