The partial US government shutdown is set to run into the new year, as an impasse continues over Donald Trump’s Mexico border wall plan.
Both chambers of Congress convened for just a few minutes on Thursday, before adjourning until next week. No moves were made to end the continuing impasse, which has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers either on unpaid leave or not knowing when they’ll be paid.
The shutdown has been triggered by Trump’s demands for US taxpayers to stump up five billion US dollars for the border wall, around a quarter of the total estimated price tag. Trump wants it to be included in spending measures that Congress has to pass, to get funding flowing again into the stalled government departments, making up around 20 percent of operations.
Amid the continuing stalemate, a new Reuters/IPSOS poll shows that more Americans blame Trump rather Congressional Democrats for the partial shutdown. Thirty-five percent of those questioned said they backed cash going towards the spending bill for the wall, while only 25 percent said they supported Trump in the partial shutdown over the matter.
The wall, on the US-Mexico border, was a big part of Trump’s election campaign. But, with political opposition and public support possibly waning, the path ahead to making it a reality looks bumpier than ever.