House votes to end shutdown despite Trump veto threat over border wall
The US House of Representatives has voted to end the partial government shutdown without funding President Donald Trump’s border wall.
The congress, which is now under Democrat control, passed a bill to fund homeland security until 8 February, as well as measures to fund other federal agencies currently affected by the shutdown.
But the move is unlikely to lift the impasse, as the Republican-backed Senate is expected to block the bills after Trump issued a veto threat yesterday.
The US president said he will reject any proposals that do not include his demand for $5bn (£3.9bn) to fund a wall on the country’s border with Mexico.
The bills were backed by the new speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first woman ever to hold the position.
“We’re not doing a wall. It has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with a wall is an immorality between countries. It’s an old way of thinking. It isn’t cost effective,” Pelosi told reporters, according to Reuters.
The vote came after newly-elected members of the House of Representatives were sworn in yesterday. The new congress is considered to be the most diverse ever, with 102 women now serving in the House, including a record 43 women of colour.
Yesterday Trump reiterated his support for a border wall during an unscheduled press conference in the White House.
“The wall – you can call it a barrier, you can call it whatever you want – but essentially we need protection in our country,” he said.
Roughly a quarter of the US government is closed due to an impasse between Democrats and Republicans over the issue of funding for a border wall.
Talks between the president and both parties are due to resume today.