WASHINGTON:Democratic leaders have accused an isolated President Donald Trump of sowingChristmas "chaos" after the stock market plummeted and the USgovernment shutdown hit a third day. "It's Christmas Eve and PresidentTrump is plunging the country into chaos," Nancy Pelosi, who takes overnext month as House speaker, and Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in theRepublican-led Senate, said in a joint statement. With Congress out of town,there was no chance for progress on the government funding crisis.
Trump's demandfor a $5 billion US-Mexico border wall-a pillar of his election platform-hasbeen rejected by Democrats and some Republicans. In retaliation, Trump refusedlast week to sign a wider spending bill, temporarily stripping funding fromswaths of the government. "Nothing new on the shutdown. We need moresecurity," Trump said at the White House on Monday. Trump tweeted morethan 10 times on Monday to lash out at opponents of the wall project and torenew his verbal assaults on the Federal Reserve, which he blames for growingjitters over the US economy. The Dow Jones index sank more than 650 points, theworst ever performance on a Christmas Eve, according to CNBC television.
Outside the WhiteHouse, Washington's National Christmas Tree became a forlorn symbol of thedysfunction when the National Park Service-one of the government bodies hit bythe funding shutdown-briefly turned off the lights. It was brought back onafter help from the service's charity foundation. And the budget standoff coulddrag on into January, when the new Congress is seated, although negotiationswere planned for Thursday, offering a glimmer of hope. Trump, who had to delayhis annual Christmas holiday in Florida, tweeted: "I am all alone (poorme) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back."
'He can't putt!'
The governmentshutdown adds to uncertainties spooking global stock markets after a tumultuousweek in which respected Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned and the presidentstepped up attacks on the supposedly independent chairman of the FederalReserve. Last week, the central bank hiked rates, infuriating Trump who hasignored traditional respect for the Fed's independence, calling it"crazy," "out of control" and a greater economic threatthan China.
In a tweetMonday, Trump compared the Fed to a blundering golfer "who can't scorebecause he has no touch - he can't putt!" Trump's Treasury SecretarySteven Mnuchin had spent much of the weekend in damage control mode followingreports that Trump had privately asked cabinet members whether he has theauthority to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. And domestic issues are just partof the far from merry Christmas picture, with Trump also juggling a trade war withChina and fallout from his abrupt decision to pull US troops from Afghanistanand Syria.
Wall of worry
Aboutthree-quarters of the government, including the military, is fully fundedthrough September 2019 but the partial shutdown forced several other majoragencies to cease operations from Saturday. The shutdown meant that more than400,000 federal employees reported to their jobs on Monday without gettingpaid, while nearly 400,000 others "will be locked out of work with nopay," the American Federation of Government Employees union said. "Noprivate business or company would be permitted to impose on or disrupt thelives of their employees in such a manner," the Federation said in lettersto the Senate and House of Representatives.
A deal to end thefunding shortfall appears a distant prospect as Congress adjourned on theweekend for Christmas. "It's very possible that this shutdown will gobeyond the 28th and into the new Congress" which takes its seat in earlyJanuary, White House budget director and incoming acting chief of staff MickMulvaney said. But while trying to pin the blame on Democrats, Mulvaney,speaking on "Fox News Sunday," acknowledged that Trump's hardlinestand played a role. "This is what Washington looks like when you have apresident who refuses to sort of go along to get along," Mulvaney said.
Flasher arrested
A choicepolitical gesture, or holiday merriment gone awry? A man has been arrestedafter exposing himself in front of the White House. Five people were posingtogether for pictures Sunday at around 1:30 am near the north fence of theWhite House when a police officer saw more than he wanted from one of them. Theman, turning around to face the executive mansion, "proceeded to lower hispants and undergarment exposing his genital to plain view," said theincident report by Washington police.
The suspect wasarrested for indecent exposure, a misdemeanor. Police did not assign a motive.While it was unlikely that President Donald Trump or his family caught a glimpseof the flasher, the incident came after Trump postponed a holiday trip toFlorida due to a political showdown that has partially shut down the USgovernment. - AFP