Trump says 'no cave' on 32nd day of government shutdown
Updated 11:24, 23-Jan-2019
CGTN
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‍President Donald Trump had a message Tuesday for Democrats hoping he will relent in the political arm wrestling that has seen funds blocked to parts of the government for a record 32 days, "No cave!"
Trump's defiant tweet again blamed congressional Democrats for the chaos, insisting he will not lift his shutdown on federal government funding unless they approve his plan of using 5.7 billion U.S. dollars to fund more walls along the U.S.-Mexican border.
"Without a wall our country can never have border or national security. With a powerful wall or steel barrier, crime rates (and drugs) will go substantially down all over the U.S.," Trump tweeted. "The Dems know this but want to play political games."
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End the shutdown

Trump's main opponent, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was adamant that the president is to blame. "#EndTheShutdown now," she tweeted. Pelosi, speaker of the Democrat-led House, argues that border security funding cannot even be discussed before the shutdown ends, accusing Trump of "holding Americans hostage."
The Senate is set to vote on two bills Thursday that would in theory break the deadlock, even if both have little chance of passing.
The first would be a procedural step on a measure that funds all shuttered branches of government through September, and includes President Donald Trump's demand for border wall funding and his proposal on immigration policy.
 A second vote would be on a stop-gap measure that funds government until February 8, to allow for debate over border security and immigration, while also letting Trump's upcoming State of the Union address before Congress proceed. It also would include disaster relief money already passed in the House. 
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Pelosi sent out a rejection before Trump had even officially laid out his proposal. The president also caught backlash from the right wing of his own party, which accused him of wanting to give amnesty to large numbers of people living in the country illegally.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that a vote on Trump's plan would take place this week, saying the chance to end the shutdown is "staring us in the face."
However, the bill looks doomed, with the senior Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, describing the Trump offer as "going nowhere fast."
"President Trump and leader McConnell need to come to their senses," he said.
The Senate was also expected to reject a second, Democrat-backed bill to restart funding for the government. Even if it did get through Congress, "the president won't sign it," a senior Senate Republican aide said. Both votes are expected Thursday.
A visitor walks by the U.S. Capitol on day 32 of a partial government shutdown as it becomes the longest in the U.S. history in Washington, DC, U.S., January 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

A visitor walks by the U.S. Capitol on day 32 of a partial government shutdown as it becomes the longest in the U.S. history in Washington, DC, U.S., January 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

The partial government shutdown was triggered by Trump on December 22 as he refused to sign off on funding everything from FBI salaries to the National Park Service, a way of pressuring the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives to back the wall project.
But with Democrats refusing to give in and Trump sticking to his hardball tactics, political paralysis in Washington has morphed into growing day-to-day pain across the country as some 800,000 federal employees adjust to life without salaries.
(Cover: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., January 14, 2019. /VCG Photo)
Source(s): AFP