US government shutdown extends into next week
Washington, Dec 28 : The US government partial shutdown was set to stretch deep into next week after legislators failed Thursday to make a breakthrough in the row over President Donald Trump's demand for a US-Mexico border wall.
After convening for just a few minutes following the official Christmas break, a still nearly empty Senate adjourned, deciding to renew budget deliberations only next Wednesday, the last day of the current Republican-controlled Congress.
That would take the government shutdown, already on its sixth day, into 12.
Both sides have dug in, with Democrats refusing to provide USD 5 billion for Trump's border wall project and the president insisting he will not fully fund the government unless he gets the money.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders accused Democrats of "openly choosing to keep our government closed to protect illegal immigrants rather than the American people."
She said Trump "will not sign a proposal that does not first prioritize our country's safety and security." As long as the wall debate holds up approval of a wider spending bill, about 800,000 federal employees are not getting salaries and non-essential parts of the government are unable to function.
Trump made clear he does not intend to give way first.
In a tweet Thursday, he once more accused Democrats of wanting to encourage illegal immigrants, "an Open Southern Border and the large scale crime that comes with such stupidity!" "Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking, Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country," he said in another tweet, also lambasting "Democrat obstruction of the needed Wall."
Opponents, including some in his Republican party, accuse the president of exaggerating the danger from illegal immigration for his own political gain.
"No end in sight to the President's government shutdown," Dick Durbin, a senior Democratic senator, tweeted.
"He's taken our government hostage over his outrageous demand for a 5 billion border wall that would be both wasteful and ineffective."
Partial government shutdowns are not an unusual weapon in Washington budget negotiations, where party divides make cooperation a rarity.
But the rancour has spiralled under Trump's abrasive administration and is set to go even higher after January 3 when the Democrats take over the House of Representatives, following their mid-term election victory.
The mess has contributed to worries over the outlook for the US economy in 2019, following a surging 2018 performance.
The stock market has plummeted in recent days, before a record recovery on Wednesday, under a variety of factors including Trump's barrage of criticism against the independent Federal Reserve.
Continuing the see-saw performance, Wall Street opened sharply lower Thursday but ended solidly higher on bargain hunting.
Large sections of the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200 kilometre) border with Mexico are already divided by fences and other barriers.
But immigrants -- some fleeing danger and others just looking for jobs -- continue to cross illegally.
Trump's critics say that he is trampling over legally protected asylum rights and argue that resources should be channelled into higher-tech alternatives to a wall.
Managing the flow of illegal border crossers has been complicated by a shift from single men to more vulnerable families, including small children.
Two youngsters from Guatemala have died while in custody of US authorities this month and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said that "extraordinary protective measures" were required to handle the flow.
US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan warned Wednesday that the agency was unable to cope with the thousands of arrivals, as most facilities were built decades ago for men arriving alone.
"We need help from Congress. We need to budget for medical care and mental health care for children in our facilities," he told CBS News.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Assam polls: Cong announces first list of 42 candidates, Gaurav to contest from Jorhat
Guwahati (PTI): The opposition Congress on Tuesday took the lead in announcing its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Assam, with it comprising both sitting MLAs and former ministers, and also new faces, including sons of three prominent politicians.
The party's chief ministerial candidate and state president Gaurav Gogoi will contest from the prestigious Jorhat assembly constituency, currently held by BJP's Hitendra Nath Goswami.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha will make his first electoral foray for the assembly.
ALSO READ: Loan recovery agent in Bengaluru murdered for reportedly stepping on accused’s foot
Gogoi is currently the party MP from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency and previously represented Kaliabor twice before it was reconstituted during the delimitation exercise in the state.
The leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, will contest from the family stronghold of Nazira, which he has represented since 2016. His father, former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, and his mother, Hemoprava Saikia, previously represented the constituency.
Three sitting MLAs -- Nandita Das from Hajo-Sualkuchi, Diganta Barman from Barkhetry and Nurul Huda from Rupohihat -- have also been included in the list.
Das, a two-time MLA, had earlier contested from Boko but following the delimitation exercise in the state, she has been shifted to Hajo-Sualkuchi while Barman and Huda will contest from the same seats they represented in the current assembly.
Former minister and state Congress president Ripun Bora will contest from Barchalla while another former minister, Ajit Singh, will contest from Udharbond constituency in Barak Valley.
Former minister and Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukan, a four-time MLA till 2016, will contest from Naharkatia in Upper Assam.
Tanzil Hussain, son of Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, will contest from Samaguri where he had lost to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah in the 2024 by-elections which was necessitated following the election of the senior Hussain to Lok Sabha.
Prateek Bordoloi, son of Nagaon MP Prodyut Bordoloi, will contest the Margherita seat which was represented by his father thrice since 2001.
Former five-time MP and prominent tea tribe leader Paban Singh Ghatowar's son Pranjal Ghatowar will contest from the Chabua-Lahowal seat.
Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, who had unsuccessfully contested the last parliamentary polls from Gauhati, has been given the ticket for the prestigious Dispur constituency.
Former BJP MLA Ashok Sarma, who was denied ticket by the ruling party in 2021 and went on to join the Congress in 2024, will contest from his previous Nalbari seat.
Another former BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar, who joined the Congress in 2024, will contest from Sonai constituency in Barak Valley.
Former AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, who joined the Congress in September 2025, will contest from Kamalpur seat.
Other prominent faces in the list include former Congress MLAs Durga Bhumij from Doomdooma, Binanda Kumar Saikia from Sipahjhar and Bubul Das from Jagiroad (SC) constituency.
The Congress is a leading part of the unified opposition alliance, 'Asom Sonmilito Morcha', formed to challenge the ruling BJP, and has entered into seat-sharing arrangements with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Left, but is yet to finalise it with Raijor Dal.
Presently, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven and BPF has three members.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.
