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Government shutdown: The latest at a glance

About a quarter of the U.S. government will shut down at midnight unless President Trump is given and signs a continuing spending resolution to keep affected agencies funded.

The U.S. Capitol Building.
The U.S. Capitol Building.Read moreTNS

About a quarter of the U.S. government will shut down at midnight unless President Donald Trump is given and signs a continuing spending resolution to keep affected agencies funded.

Here’s the latest what we know.

  1. The House of Representatives Thursday night passed a continuing spending resolution along party lines that includes $5.7 billion for the wall Trump wants built along the border with Mexico, a barrier he had previously said would be paid for by Mexico. The resolution does not say where the money will come.

  2. A short-term spending bill passed by the Senate Wednesday did not include the money for the wall. The measure approved by the House including wall money is unlikely to pass in the upper house since it needs 60 votes for approval. Republicans hold 51 of the Senate’s 100 seats.

  3. Trump, in a series of tweets Friday morning, again pressed his demands for the border wall. In one he sought to pin a possible shutdown on the Democrats if they do not approve funding that includes money for the wall in another Senate vote. Ultimately, though, it will be up to the president to sign — or not sign — any short term funding bill that is presented to him by Congress, should both houses find common ground. At a bill signing at at the White House, the president said the “chances are probably very good” for a shutdown, according to CNN.

  1. Senators have been called back to Washington. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said he supports the House bill, but Democrats have showed no signs of relenting.

  2. A shutdown would affect about a quarter of the government since about 75 percent of the federal budget controlled by Congress has been funded through September, including the Pentagon, Veterans Affairs, and the Health and Human Services Department. But no one working will get paid until a shutdown ends. Those not working might get paid if Congress, as it has in the past, approves it.

  3. The impact of any shutdown — which would affect about 800,000 of the nation’s 2.1 million federal employees — would not be felt until Wednesday, when the government’s Christmas holiday ends.

  4. Among the agencies facing closure during the shutdown is the National Park Service, While many parks will be accessible, during the last shutdown in January, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell were closed to the public. At Valley Forge National Park, grounds were open to the public, but all buildings were closed and programs were suspended.