The negotiation of the budget bill failed, and the US government’s lockout will continue after Christmas.

　　BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Reuters)-Due to the inability of US Congressman and President Trump to reach a consensus on the border wall budget bill and the government expenditure bill, several agencies of the US federal government have partially stopped working since the early morning of the 22nd local time. After several hours of discussion on the 22nd, the two parties still failed to reach an agreement, which means that part of the lockout will last until after Christmas.

　　[government agency shutdown]

　　Trump is seeking a $5 billion grant to build the US-Mexico border fence. This is Trump’s promise when he ran for the presidency in 2016. He said that now is the last chance to fight for the cost of building a wall. It is difficult to pass this complicated bill because of the firm opposition of Democrats.

　　The lockout will affect 25% of federal government agencies. Nine of the 15 federal administrative departments in the United States will be forced to close, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the State Council, the Department of Transportation, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture. About 800,000 government employees were affected.

　　It is unknown how long the lockout will last, but before the Christmas holiday, thousands of civil servants were either put on unpaid leave or forced to work without pay. However, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to allow staff who are "temporarily unemployed" to pay back their wages later.

　　At 3 pm local time on the 22nd, Senate Majority Leader McConaughey announced that the Senate would adjourn before the Christmas holiday and return to the formal meeting at 4 pm on Thursday, December 27th.

　　McConaughey said at the Senate meeting, "When these negotiations produce a solution acceptable to all parties, that is to say, when the plan can get 60 votes in the Senate and a majority vote and the president’s signature in the House of Representatives, we will pass the plan in the Senate."

　[The two parties accuse each other]

　　The leaders of both parties in the Senate are accusing each other of not making concessions in the government budget voting negotiations. Vice President Burns met with Schumer, leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate, on the afternoon of 22nd, but Schumer’s office issued a statement before the meeting, saying "Remind" Burns that Democrats will not sign any bill on the construction of the border wall.

　　President Trump believes that this round of negotiations before Christmas is the best choice for him, but it may also be the last time. Because Democrats will take over the House of Representatives in January next year. He said on Twitter that "we are negotiating with Democrats on the urgently needed border security issue", and he also pointed out that "but the negotiations may be carried out for a long time."

　　On social networking sites, Trump accused the Democratic Party of not supporting the bill and was responsible for the government’s "shutdown". "We will shut down the government. There’s nothing we can do because we need Democrats to vote for us, "he added." I hope the government shutdown won’t last long. "

　　House Democratic leader Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer issued a joint statement shortly after midnight, blaming Trump and Republican lawmakers, and said that if "Trump shut down the government" continues, "the Democratic Party that regained the House of Representatives will quickly pass the reconsideration of the budget bill and will let the government run again in January."