US government shutdown stretches into third day

Up to 800,000 federal workers were told to stay at home on Monday as the government shutdown dragged into a third day after the White House and Congress failed to reach an agreement on reforming the country's immigration laws.

The US government was forced to freeze "non-essential services" on 20 January, after the Senate refused to approve another extension of the country's debt ceiling, in what would have been the fourth since the October elections.

Most Democrats in the Senate refused to support any spending bill that did not roll-back the suspension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals legislation or so-called 'Dreamers' programme.

The Obama-era legislation allowed some immigrants who had been brought to the country as children to remain, but it was now due to expire on 5 March after being rescinded by Trump in 2017.

At one point, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said that Trump had reportedly agreed to more time for a deal on Dreamers in return for more military spending.

But the next day, Schumer said the President cannot be dealt with since he "does not stick to the terms".

Marc Short, director of legislative affairs and assistant to the president said, "We will not negotiate the status of 690,000 unlawful immigrants while hundreds of millions of tax-paying Americans, including hundreds of thousands of our troops in uniform and border agents protecting our country, are held hostage by Senate Democrats."

Trump also took to Twitter, blaming Democrats for the shutdown, accusing them of worrying more about illegal immigrants than about fellow Americans and their safety.

Trump tweeted: "Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our Military and Safety at the Border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to pour into our nation unchecked. If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term budget, no C.R.'s!"

A Senate vote scheduled for Sunday evening had to be postponed until Monday at midday following the failure of both sides to reach a deal.

Regarding the shutdown's potential impact on US stocks, Oanda market analyst Craig Erlam said: "There were some concerns that the shutdown may weigh on investor sentiment and halt what has been another impressive run in US stock markets but as of yet, there’s little evidence to support this. Yes futures are a little lower ahead of the open but these declines don’t even wipe out Friday’s marginal gains which suggests that what we’re seeing is not out of the ordinary.

"As long as a solution is found in reasonable time to fund government and reopen the areas that are now closed, I don't expect investors to concerns themselves much with it. The last shutdown in 2013 lasted 16 days and had minimal, if any, lasting economic impact and it's this that is likely giving investors the confidence to shrug it off this time around."

Acting as a backdrop, over the weekend the president was forced to deal with anti-Trump protests in major cities around the country to mark his first anniversary in office.