Key events
US government shutdown nearing record for the longest in history as Trump delays food benefits to millions
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
Republicans are claiming that the US president, Donald Trump, is “desperate” to end the government shutdown, which has now entered its 33rd day, as lawmakers struggle to find common ground on previously bipartisan issues such as food aid and health care.
The last shutdown, which started in December 2018 and was brought about by disagreements over money to fund a wall along the US-Mexico border, lasted 35 days – the longest in American history.
Republicans have only 53 Senate seats, meaning they need at least seven Democrats or independents to reopen the federal government. But in repeated votes since federal agencies shut on 1 October, just three Democrats have been willing to support funding legislation.
Trump continues to exert an iron grip on the shutdown, which sees Democrats and Republicans stuck over passing a spending plan that would reopen federal agencies. He is resisting political and even federal court pressure to ease the burden on vulnerable Americans while protesting that he has no power to end the impasse.
“I mean, the Republicans are voting almost unanimously to end it, and the Democrats keep voting against ending it,” Trump told 60 Minutes in an interview on Sunday. “You know, they’ve never had this. This has happened like 18 times before. The Democrats always voted for an extension, always saying, ‘Give us an extension, we’ll work it out.’”
Two federal court judges ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must use $5bn in contingency funds to keep paying food assistance Snap benefits for up to 42 million low-income Americans. The payments stopped Saturday under the shutdown, posing the risk of hunger for millions of people.
As my colleague Ed Pilkington reports in this story, despite the two court orders, it remains unclear when or whether the administration will restart the payments. Trump has said he is waiting for clarification from the federal judges on where the money should come from.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest developments from Washington.
