Conservatives slam Donald Trump for caving in on govt shutdown

Donald Trump

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has drawn the ire of supporters and Republicans alike after he ended his demand for Congress to fund the proposed wall along the Mexican border.

Trump demanded the House of Representatives, controlled by the Democrats, to sanction USD 5.7 billion for the wall in exchange for his signature on a bill funding federal agencies, according to AL Jazeera. The US President's refusal to sign the bill unless the House sanctioned the funds resulted in the 35-day long government shutdown, the longest in history. Among his many critics was anti-immigration pundit Ann Coulter, who called Trump a "wimp".

"Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States," Coulter wrote in a tweet. Far-right activists Mike Cernovic and Paul Joseph Watson also chipped in, with the former terming the President a "broken man" and the latter saying that his base was in "complete meltdown".

Following the announcement, Trump dismissed his decision as a concession, assuring his supporters that the move was only temporary and the deadlock would resume if Democrats and Republicans do not reach an agreement by February.

"I wish people would read or listen to my words on the Border Wall. This was in no way a concession. It was taking care of millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the Shutdown with the understanding that in 21 days, if no deal is done, it's off to the races!" the President tweeted. Meanwhile, Democrats celebrated the end of the shutdown and expressed determination to prevent a repeat in the future.

"After inflicting enormous suffering on federal employees and those who depend on government services, the President is finally reopening the government with the same deal that was on the table in December. We need to take action to end 'shutdowns' as a tactic, once and for all," Democratic Congressman from California Adam Schiff said in a tweet.

On Friday, Trump signed the bill to fund federal agencies until February 15, ending the 35-day government shutdown without securing the border-wall funding. The shutdown had resulted in as many as 8,00,000 federal workers not receiving payment.

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