US Govt' shutdown set to continue
The US partial government shutdown is now the longest ever reaching a total of 23 days on Sunday. So why the shutdown?
Well, on January 3 the 116th US Congress (similar to the UK Parliament) was sworn in. The US Congress has two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. For any law to be passed the politicians in both the House and the Senate have to vote for it. Now in the US Mid-Term elections the Democrats won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives. Prior to the mid-terms, Trumps party the Republicans held a majority in the House of Representatives. This change meant Trump would struggle to get his policies through Congress. Those birds are now coming home to roost.
The issue is that each year Congress has to agree an amount of money to give to Government departments. The budget is then approved by the Senate. However, Trump won't approve it because he wants $5.7 billion of funding to build a wall between the US and Mexico. This was a promise as part of Trump's campaign and he is sticking to his promise to get the wall built. According to S&P Global ratings the shutdown has already cost +$3.5 billion.
So, until there can be a resolution this shutdown will continue and the longer this carries on the more of an impact this will have on the US. Another risk factor to add to the ever expanding list.
