The U.S. government will partially shut down due to a lack of agreement over funding for the wall along the Mexico border. It is likely that the closures will last until after Christmas. It is the third government shutdown this year. U.S. President Donald Trump has promised a "very long" government shutdown if Democrats do not fund the wall. He wants $5.7 billion to finance the wall. It was one of the President's major election promises. He said: "We are totally prepared for a very long shutdown." He tweeted: "Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for border security."
The shutdown affected Mr Trump's holiday plans. The White House confirmed this in a statement. It said: "Due to the shutdown, President Trump will remain in Washington, D.C. and the First Lady will return from Florida so they can spend Christmas together." There is gridlock in large parts of the country. Funding has expired for departments that operate national parks, homeland security, law enforcement, tax collection and transportation. Around 400,000 federal workers will stay at home without pay until a deal is reached.
