Iran Press/America: White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Saturday that US President Donald Trump will stay in Washington DC through Christmas due to a partial government shutdown, according to SPUTNIK news agency.
Trump was originally scheduled to travel to his Florida resort for the end of year holidays.
The shutdown is the third this year and it remained unclear how long it would last.
Operations for several key agencies ceased at 12:01 am on Saturday (5:01 GMT), despite last-ditch talks that continued on Capitol Hill between White House officials and congressional leaders in both parties.
White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney instructed agencies 'to execute plans for an orderly shutdown.'
The Senate voted earlier 48-47 to proceed with a vote on a spending bill that includes an estimated $5.7 billion for border wall funding. However, Senate Democrats said they would not provide the 60 votes needed to approve it.
Building a wall on the US-Mexico border was one of Trump's key promises throughout his presidential campaign. The president believes that the wall will stop illegal migration, as well as end the trafficking of people and drugs.
Trump had initially agreed to a spending bill that did not include funding for the wall but was targeted by a severe backlash from some of his most prominent supporters.
The president then decided he would not sign a spending bill without money for the wall.
Related news:
Trump threatens to shut down government over border wall
In January 2017, Trump signed an executive order that partially initiated the process of building the wall. The Trump administration requested $5 billion for the wall within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget, a request that Democrats and several Republicans oppose.
Last week, Trump threatened to have the US military build his wall along the US-Mexico border if the spending bill did not include the funding he wants.
On 8 August, nine Guatemalan children separated from their parents at the US border under Trump’s immigration policy were reunited with their deported families.
Nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their families between April and May this year, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The executive order signed by the US President on 20 June 2018 fails to address the situation of thousands of migrant children forcibly separated from their parents and held in detention at the border, UN experts said. 208/ 211 / 103
Read more:
9 Guatemalan children reunited with parents after US separation
US government partially shuts down over border wall row
US Government set to shut down for the third time in a year
Trump threatens U.S. government shutdown
