43-day government shutdown in the US ends: Trump blasts Democrats

The shutdown process of the US government, which occurred due to a failure to reach a consensus between Democrats and Republicans on a temporary budget, has ended after 43 days. Following the Senate, the House of Representatives also approved the temporary budget that will allow the government, which shut down on October 1, to resume operations. The bill provides funding for most federal agencies until January 30, and for some until the end of the fiscal year. While two Republican members opposed the bill, which was approved by a vote of 222 to 209, six Democrats voted in favor.

TRUMP ACCUSES DEMOCRATS

Signing the bill at a ceremony held at the White House, US President Donald Trump accused Democrats of "trying to spend American taxpayers' money on people who enter the country illegally." Claiming that Democrats "wanted to spend 1.5 trillion dollars on illegal immigrants coming from gangs, prisons, and mental health institutions," Trump stated, "This would have negatively affected our healthcare providers and those who benefit from these services at a level never seen before."

"WE WILL NEVER GIVE IN TO BLACKMAIL"

Referring to the budget negotiations, Trump said, "We will never give in to blackmail. Because that is exactly what happened. The Democrats tried to corner our country with blackmail. This little adventure cost the country 1.5 trillion dollars." Stating that Republicans never wanted the government to shut down, Trump reminded that they had voted 15 times to provide funding for government agencies. "It has never been seen before that one of the two parties refused to sign a continuing resolution," Trump said, adding, "This was just a continuing resolution, but the extremists in the opposing party caused the longest government shutdown in American history for political reasons."

"DEMOCRATS' DECISION CAUSED GREAT DAMAGE"

Thanking Senate members and public employees who worked during the shutdown process, Trump said, "Over the last 7 weeks, the Democrats' decision to shut down caused great damage. They caused more than 20 thousand flights to be canceled or delayed. People were very seriously victimized. Yet this decision was completely simple; it was a budget continuing resolution that could have been easily extended. But they did not choose the easy way, they chose the hard way."

"REMEMBER WHAT THEY DID WHEN ELECTIONS COME"

Accusing Democrats of "leaving more than 1 million federal employees without pay and cutting food aid for millions of needy Americans," Trump said, "Tens of thousands of federal contractors and small businesses did not receive payments. It will take weeks, perhaps months, to fully calculate the total impact of what they did." Addressing the American people, Trump said, "Do not forget this. When the midterm elections and other elections come, remember what they did to our country." Stating, "It is an honor to sign this extraordinary bill now and make our country functional again" while signing the bill, Trump announced that the government had resumed operations after 43 days.

BUDGET DISPUTE HAD SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT

Although the House of Representatives approved a temporary budget on September 19 to provide funding for the government until November 21, the two parties could not reach a consensus in the Senate. As a result of the budget not being approved by October 1, the start of the new fiscal year, the government had shut down for the first time since 2018.

CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF TEMPORARY BUDGETS

In the US, the fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. When Congress does not approve the budget on time, the government is forced to continue its operations with temporary budgets. When these budgets are not approved, the government loses its authority to spend and halts all non-essential activities. During this process, public personnel are placed on mandatory leave, while those working in the military, intelligence, and health institutions cannot receive their salaries until a new budget is passed.

News Source: İHA