United States heading for shutdown again: Trump rejects the spending agreement between Republicans and Dems

If a new agreement is not found by Friday evening, the federal government will be forced to stop many non-essential activities.

ROME – The United States is moving towards a federal government shutdown, again. It had already happened, the last time, between 2018 and 2019, when the stoppage of the federal machine lasted 35 days. Donald Trump has rejected the agreement reached between Republicans and Democrats. The agreement, which must be approved by Congress by Friday evening, included economic measures to fund the government until mid-March and more than $100 billion in natural disaster aid. The veto of the president-elect of the United States now puts the continuity of public services at risk.

Trump has sharply criticized the deal, calling on Republican lawmakers to oppose it. Obviously his position was strengthened by Elon Musk, who publicly came down hard on the Republicans who signed the agreement: “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this shameful public spending bill deserves not to be re-elected among two years!”, he wrote in a post.

If a new agreement is not found by Friday evening, the federal government will be forced to stop many non-essential activities. During the shutdown, the activities of sectors such as national parks, museums and administrative services are suspended, but essential functions – police, firefighters, armed forces and air traffic management – continue to function. 800,000 of the 2 million federal employees may be temporarily placed on furlough or forced to work without pay.