Warren Takes Step Toward 2020 Presidential Bid

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee for a presidential bid in the 2020 election. Warren told reporters Monday that she wants to make America a land of opportunity for all its citizens and not just for the wealthy. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports the senator from Massachusetts is the first major Democrat to make a formal step toward entering the contest for the party's presidential nomination.

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Elizabeth Warren Makes Big Move Toward 2020 US Presidential Run

WASHINGTON — 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday took the first major step toward launching a widely anticipated campaign for the presidency, hoping her reputation as a populist fighter can help her navigate a Democratic field that could include nearly two dozen candidates.

“No matter what our differences, most of us want the same thing,” the 69-year-old Massachusetts Democrat said in a video that highlights her family's history in Oklahoma. “To be able to work hard, play by the same set of rules and take care of the people we love. That's what I'm fighting for and that's why today I'm launching an exploratory committee for president.”

Warren burst onto the national scene a decade ago during the financial crisis with calls for greater consumer protections. She quickly became one of the party's more prominent liberals even as she sometimes fought with Obama administration officials over their response to the market turmoil.

Now, as a likely presidential contender, she is making an appeal to the party's base. Her video notes the economic challenges facing people of color along with images of a women's march and Warren's participation at an LGBT event.

In an email to supporters, Warren said she'd more formally announce a campaign plan early in 2019.

Warren is the most prominent Democrat yet to make a move toward a presidential bid and has long been a favorite target of President Donald Trump.

In mid-December, former Obama housing chief Julian Castro also announced a presidential exploratory committee, which legally allows potential candidates to begin raising money. Outgoing Maryland Rep. John Delaney is the only Democrat so far to have formally announced a presidential campaign.

But that's likely to change quickly in the new year as other leading Democrats take steps toward White House runs.

Warren enters a Democratic field that's shaping up as the most crowded in decades, with many of her Senate colleagues openly weighing their own campaigns, as well as governors, mayors and other prominent citizens. One of her most significant competitors could be Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who is eyeing another presidential run harnessing the same populist rhetoric.

She must also move past a widely panned October release of a DNA test meant to bolster her claim to Native American heritage. The move was intended to rebut Trump's taunts of Warren as “Pocahontas.” Instead, her use of a genetic test to prove ethnicity spurred controversy that seemed to blunt any argument she sought to make. There was no direct mention of it in the video released Monday.

Warren has the benefit of higher name recognition than many others in the Democratic mix for 2020, thanks to her years as a prominent critic of Wall Street who originally conceived of what became the government's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

She now faces an arduous battle to raise money and capture Democratic primary voters' attention before Iowa casts its first vote in more than a year. She has an advantage in the $12.5 million left over from her 2018 re-election campaign that she could use for a presidential run.

Warren's campaign is likely to revolve around the same theme she's woven into speeches and policy proposals in recent years: battling special interests, paying mind to the nexus between racial and economic inequities.

“America's middle class is under attack,” Warren said in the video. “How did we get here? Billionaires and big corporations decided they wanted more of the pie. And they enlisted politicians to cut them a fatter slice.”

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Trump Defends His Planned Troop Withdrawal from Syria

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday defended his planned withdrawal of all 2,000 American troops from Syria, attacking critics of the action as chronic complainers.

In a string of Twitter remarks, Trump said, "If anybody but Donald Trump did what I did in Syria, which was an ISIS (Islamic State) loaded mess when I became President, they would be a national hero."

He said the Islamic State terrorist group that once claimed Raqqa in northern Syria as the capital of its caliphate, "is mostly gone" from Syria and "we’re slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families, while at the same time fighting ISIS remnants."

Trump stunned U.S. national security aides and lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, by announcing December 19 that he was withdrawing the U.S. troops who had been instrumental in removing most of the jihadist group from northeast Syria and aided Kurdish fighters in their fight against the insurgents.

Critics of the withdrawal said that removing U.S. troops could lead to a resurgence of Islamic State operations.

One critic of the move, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, normally a Trump loyalist, met with the U.S. leader Sunday and later said the president remains committed to defeating Islamic State. Graham suggested Trump may slow his planned 30-day withdrawal, but the White House has not commented on Graham's interpretation of his talks with Trump.

"I think we're in a pause situation where we are re-evaluating what's the best way to achieve the president's objective of having (other countries) pay more and do more" in the war on terrorism, Graham said.

In his Monday tweets, Trump said, "I campaigned on getting out of Syria and other places. Now when I start getting out the Fake News Media, or some failed Generals who were unable to do the job before I arrived, like to complain about me & my tactics, which are working. Just doing what I said I was going to do! Except the results are FAR BETTER than I ever said they were going to be! I campaigned against the NEVER ENDING WARS, remember!"

Trump contended, "I am the only person in America who could say that, “I’m bringing our great troops back home, with victory,” and get BAD press. It is Fake News and Pundits who have FAILED for years that are doing the complaining. If I stayed in Endless Wars forever, they would still be unhappy!"

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Trump: US-Mexican Border Wall Would Not Be Solid Concrete

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged Monday that not all of the barrier he wants to build along the Mexican border would be a concrete wall he has long called for.

"An all concrete Wall was NEVER ABANDONED, as has been reported by the media," Trump contended in a Twitter remark. He was disputing John Kelly, his outgoing White House chief of staff, who said in an interview over the weekend that the Trump administration discarded the idea of a "solid concrete wall" early in Trump's two-year tenure as president.

But Trump conceded, "Some areas will be all concrete but the experts at Border Patrol prefer a Wall that is see through (thereby making it possible to see what is happening on both sides). Makes sense to me!"

Trump won the cheers of his most ardent loyalists in his successful 2016 presidential campaign with his call for a solid concrete wall along the 3,200-kilometer U.S.-Mexican border, claiming Mexico would pay for it.

As president, however, Trump has sought U.S. taxpayer funding, but Congress has balked, leading to the ongoing shutdown of a quarter of U.S. government operations, furloughing 800,000 government workers and forcing another 420,000 to work without pay.

WATCH: Free Meals for Furloughed Workers

The shutdown is now in its 10th day with no end in sight, and likely extending past Thursday when a new Congress is seated, with opposition Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives from Trump's Republican Party. Republicans will maintain their majority in the Senate, leaving Washington with a politically divided government in the second two years of Trump's first term.

Trump wants $5 billion as a down payment on the barrier that could cost more than $20 billion, but Democrats have only agreed to $1.6 billion to improve border security, but no wall money. Trump and Democratic lawmakers have not held any negotiations for days over the wall dispute.

Kelly told the Los Angeles Times, "To be honest, it’s not a wall. The president still says ‘wall’ — oftentimes frankly he’ll say ‘barrier’ or ‘fencing,’ now he’s tended toward steel slats."

Kelly added, "But we left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration, when we asked people what they needed and where they needed it."

In a second Twitter remark, Trump said, "I campaigned on Border Security, which you cannot have without a strong and powerful Wall. Our Southern Border has long been an “Open Wound,” where drugs, criminals (including human traffickers) and illegals would pour into our Country. Dems should get back here (and) fix now!"

White House officials said talks to resolve the border barrier funding impasse have broken off.

Trump on Sunday tweeted that Democrats "left town and are not concerned about the safety and security of Americans!"

Democrats scoffed at the accusation.

"This is the same president who repeatedly promised the American people that Mexico would pay for the wall that he plans to build," New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said on ABC's This Week program. "Now he's trying to extract $5 billion from the American taxpayer to pay for something that clearly would be ineffective."

"President Trump has taken hundreds of thousands of federal employees' pay hostage in a last ditch effort to fulfill a campaign promise," the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, tweeted. "Building a wall from sea to shining sea won't make us safer or stop drugs from coming into our country."

In a series of tweets on Friday, Trump again threatened to close the entire U.S.-Mexico border and cut aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador if Congress failed to give him money to fund the wall. He also asked for changes in what he said was the United States' "ridiculous immigration laws."

Closing the U.S.-Mexican border would mean disrupting a $1.68 billion-a-day trade relationship between the two countries. In addition, immigrant advocates have called any move to seal the border "disgraceful."

In a tweet Saturday, Trump linked Democrats' "pathetic immigration policies" with the deaths of two Guatemalan children while in U.S. custody.

His comments, the first to reference the children's deaths, came the same day Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was finishing a two-day visit to the southern U.S. border, where she said in a statement, "The system is clearly overwhelmed and we must work together to address this humanitarian crisis."

Trump has declined to comment on whether he might accept less than $5 billion for wall funding. When asked how long he thought the shutdown would last, Trump told reporters, "Whatever it takes."

Democrats have blamed Trump for "plunging the country into chaos" and have noted that Trump, before the partial work stoppage took effect, said he would be "proud" to "own" a shutdown over border wall funding.

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Top US Senator Upbeat on Syria Troop Withdrawal After Trump Meeting

Partial Federal Shutdown to Continue Into 2019

The U.S. government is expected to remain partially closed for most of this week, and possibly even longer, as federal spending negotiations between the White House and lawmakers remain at a standstill. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, at issue is President Donald Trump’s demand for wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border, where a second undocumented child in U.S. custody died last week.

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Government Shutdown Enters Day 9

The partial U.S. government shutdown is in its 9th day, with no end in sight, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to stress the need for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall

In a tweet Saturday, Trump said Democrats should take the initiative on ending the shutdown, saying, “I am in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come on over and make a deal” on border security.

A budget standoff remains between Trump, who wants $5 billion in wall funding, and Democratic lawmakers, who back a modest increase in overall border security funding but resolutely oppose a wall.

In a series of tweets on Friday, Trump again threatened to close the entire U.S.-Mexico border and cut aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador if Congress failed to give him money to fund the wall. He also asked for changes in what he said was the United States’ "ridiculous immigration laws.”

Closing the U.S.-Mexican border would mean disrupting a $1.68 billion-a-day trade relationship between the two countries. In addition, immigrant advocates have called any move to seal the border "disgraceful."

In a tweet Saturday, Trump linked Democrats’ "pathetic immigration policies” with the deaths of two Guatemalan children while they were in U.S. custody.

His comments, the first to reference the children's deaths, came the same day Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was finishing a two-day visit to the southern U.S. border, where she said in a statement, "The system is clearly overwhelmed and we must work together to address this humanitarian crisis."

Trump has declined to comment on whether he might accept less than $5 billion for wall funding. When asked Wednesday how long he thought the shutdown would last, Trump told reporters, "Whatever it takes."

Out of a workforce of about 2.1 million federal employees, more than 800,000 have been furloughed without pay. About 420,000 of those furloughed employees are still being required to work without pay.

Democrats have blamed Trump for "plunging the country into chaos" and have noted that, weeks ago, Trump said he would be "proud" to "own" a shutdown over border wall funding.

The Republican Party controls the White House, as well as both chambers of Congress. On Thursday, however, a new Congress, with a Democrat-controlled House, will be seated.

If the partial shutdown continues, the Smithsonian Institution said it would start closing its 19 museums, art galleries and National Zoo starting midweek. The Smithsonian attractions drew nearly 21 million visitors by the end of October 2018, according to the institution's website. It recorded 30 million visitors in 2017.

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Free Food for Furloughed Employees From Washington Restaurants

Only days before Christmas 2018, thousands of federal employees were furloughed in the third government shutdown this year. But some restaurants in Washington are showing their support by giving out free food to federal employees who are facing uncertainty at the end of the year. Valdya Baraputri has the story.

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Elections, Films Help Effort to Ban Gay Conversion Therapy

Trump Continues Wall Campaign as Shutdown Reaches Day 8

Trump Says Democrats Should Take the Initiative To End Government Shutdown

For Koreas, Will 2019 be ‘Fire and Fury’ or New Era of Peace?

2-Year-old Yemeni Boy Whose Mom Sued US to see Him Has Died

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — 

The 2-year-old son of a Yemeni woman who sued the Trump administration to let her into the country to be with the ailing boy has died, the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced.

Abdullah Hassan died Friday in UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where his father Ali Hassan brought him in the fall to get treatment for a genetic brain disorder.

Ali Hassan is a U.S. citizen who lives in Stockton, California. He and his wife Shaima Swileh moved to Egypt after marrying in war-torn Yemen in 2016. Swileh is not an American citizen and remained in Egypt while fighting for a visa.

“We are heartbroken. We had to say goodbye to our baby, the light of our lives,” Ali Hassan was quoted as saying in the statement published by the council.

Swileh held her son for the first time in the hospital 10 days ago.

A funeral is scheduled for Saturday.

Swileh had been trying to get a visa since 2017, so the family could move to the United States.

Citizens from Yemen and four other mostly Muslim countries, along with North Korea and Venezuela, are restricted from coming to the United States under President Donald Trump’ s travel ban.

When the boy’s health worsened, the father went ahead to California in October to get their son help, and Swileh remained in Egypt hoping for a visa. As the couple fought for a waiver, doctors put Abdullah on life support.

“My wife is calling me every day wanting to kiss and hold her son for the one last time,” said Ali Hassan, choking up at a news conference earlier this month.

He started losing hope and was considering pulling his son off life support to end his suffering. But then a hospital social worker reached out to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which sued on Dec. 16, said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the group in Sacramento.

The State Department granted Swileh a waiver the next day.

“With their courage, this family has inspired our nation to confront the realities of Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban,” said Saad Sweilem, a lawyer with the council who represents the family. “In his short life, Abdullah has been a guiding light for all of us in the fight against xenophobia and family separation.”

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Trump, Democrats Play the Blame Game in 2nd Shutdown Weekend

WASHINGTON — 

President Donald Trump and Democrats are trading blame for the partial government shutdown but doing little substantive talking with each other as the disruption in federal services and public employees’ pay slogs into another weekend.

Trump upped the brinkmanship by threatening anew to close the border with Mexico to press Congress to cave to his demand for money to pay for a wall. Democrats vowed to pass legislation restoring the government as soon as they take control of the House on Thursday, but that won’t accomplish anything unless Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate go along with it.

The effects to the public of the impasse grew as the Environmental Protection Agency, which had the money to function a week longer than some agencies, implemented its shutdown plan at midnight Friday night. EPA spokeswoman Molly Block said many of the agency’s 14,000 employees were being furloughed while disaster-response teams and certain other employees deemed essential would stay on the job.

Also running short on money: the Smithsonian Institution, which said its museums and galleries popular with visitors and locals in the capital will close starting midweek if the partial shutdown drags on. But federal flood insurance policies will continue to be issued and renewed, in a reversal prompted by pressure from lawmakers, said Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

Trump appeared no closer to securing money for his signature border wall, which he vowed during the campaign that he would make Mexico pay for. He’s failed to do so. Now Democratic leaders are adamant that they will not authorize money for the project, calling it wasteful and ineffective. They show no signs of bending, either.

“We are far apart,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told CBS on Friday.

Trump tweeted: “We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with.” He also threatened to cut off U.S. aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, among countries he deems have not done enough to combat illegal immigration.

He’s made similar threats in the past without following through, and it is Congress, not the president, that appropriates aid money.

The shutdown is forcing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors to stay home or work without pay.

Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, said Democrats are no longer negotiating with the administration over an earlier offer by the White House to accept less than the $5 billion Trump wants for the wall.

Democrats said the White House offered to accept $2.5 billion for border security, but that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told Vice President Mike Pence that it wasn’t acceptable. It was also not guaranteed that Trump would settle for that amount.

“There’s not a single Democrat talking to the president of the United States about this deal,” Mulvaney said Friday

Speaking on Fox News and later to reporters, he tried to drive a wedge between Democrats, pinning the blame on House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

Mulvaney said Schumer was “really interested in doing a deal and coming to some sort of compromise” but he understood that Pelosi was at risk of losing the speakership of the House if she went along. “So we’re in this for the long haul,” he said.

In fact, Pelosi has all but locked up the support she needs to win the speaker’s gavel Thursday and there has been no sign that she and Schumer are in conflict.

“For the White House to try and blame anyone but the president for this shutdown doesn’t pass the laugh test,” said Justin Goodman, a spokesman for Schumer.

Pelosi has vowed to pass legislation to reopen the nine shuttered departments and dozens of agencies now hit by the partial shutdown as soon as she takes the gavel, which is expected when the new Congress convenes. But that alone won’t solve the shutdown, absent Senate approval and Trump’s signature.

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill added that Democrats united against the wall and won’t seriously consider any White House offer unless Trump backs it publicly because he “has changed his position so many times.”

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reacted cautiously to Trump’s threat to close the border, calling it an “internal affair of the U.S. government.”

“We are always seeking a good relationship with the United States. We do not want to be rash,” he said.

As for EPA, workers needed for preventing immediate public health threats at more than 800 Superfund hazardous-waste sites will remain on the job as well as emergency response workers for disasters.

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Farmers Risk Loss of Federal Payments, Loans, From Shutdown

WASHINGTON — 

The end of 2018 seemed to signal good things to come for America’s farmers. Fresh off the passage of the farm bill, which reauthorized agriculture, conservation and safety net programs, the Agriculture Department last week announced a second round of direct payments to growers hardest hit by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

Then parts of the government shut down.

The USDA in a statement issued last week assured farmers that checks would continue to go out during the first week of the shutdown. But direct payments for farmers who haven’t certified production, as well as farm loans and disaster assistance programs, will be put on hold beginning next week, and won’t start up again until the government reopens.

There is little chance of the government shutdown ending soon. Trump and Congress are no closer to reaching a deal over his demand for border wall money, and both sides say the impasse could drag well into January.

Although certain vital USDA programs will remain operational in the short term, that could change if the shutdown lasts for more than a few weeks.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, helps feed roughly 40 million Americans. According to the USDA, eligible recipients are guaranteed benefits through January. Other feeding programs, including WIC, which provides food aid and nutrition counseling for pregnant women, new mothers and children, and food distribution programs on Indian reservations, will continue on a local level, but additional federal funding won’t be provided. School lunch programs will continue through February.

USDA has earmarked about $9.5 billion in direct payments for growers of soybeans, corn, wheat, sorghum and other commodities most affected by tariffs. The first round of payments went out in September. The deadline to sign up for the second round of payments is January 15.

The impact of the shutdown, which began shortly before most federal workers were scheduled for a holiday break, started coming into focus by midweek.

About 420,000 employees are working without pay, while 380,000 are being forced to stay home. In the past, federal employees have been paid retroactively. But government contractors won’t get paid for hours they’ll lose staying home, causing problems for those who rely on hourly wages.

In anticipation of the financial bind many federal workers and contractors may soon find themselves in, the Office of Personnel Management offered some advice: haggle with landlords, creditors and mortgage companies for lower payments until the shutdown is over.

The shutdown also is affecting national parks, although unevenly: Some remain accessible with bare-bones staffing levels, some are operating with money from states or charitable groups, while others are locked off.

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Dems Won't Seat Candidate in Unresolved Race

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — 

The dissolution of North Carolina’s elections board Friday injected further uncertainty into a still-undecided congressional race as a U.S. House Democratic leader rejected the idea of filling the seat until an investigation of ballot fraud allegations is complete.

Gov. Roy Cooper was met with Republican resistance after announcing he would appoint an interim Board of Elections after a three-judge state court panel ruled Thursday that the current board should disband at noon Friday. The Democrat’s move would fill the gap — and allow the board to proceed with a Jan. 11 evidentiary hearing about the 9th District congressional race — until a new law governing the statewide elections panel can take effect Jan. 31.

Amid the turmoil, incoming U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer issued a statement saying House Democrats won’t allow Republican Mark Harris to be sworn in next week because of the ongoing investigation.

“Given the now well-documented election fraud that took place in NC-09, Democrats would object to any attempt by Mr. Harris to be seated on January 3,” Hoyer said, adding that “the integrity of our democratic process outweighs concerns about the seat being vacant at the start of the new Congress.”

The U.S. Constitution states that the House is the judge of the elections of its members and the final arbiter of contests.

The state Elections Board has refused to certify the race between Harris and Democrat Dan McCready while it investigates absentee ballot irregularities in the district in the south-central part of the state. Harris holds a slim lead in unofficial results, but election officials are looking into criminal allegations against an operative hired by the Harris campaign.

Friday’s standoff was set in motion by the latest ruling from a state court that previously had found the elections board’s makeup unconstitutional after the Republican-controlled legislature altered the board in 2016. The court had ruled earlier this year to allow the board to remain in place until Friday while it investigates the congressional race. The latest ruling came as lawmakers enacted a new law Thursday to largely restore the board to how it operated before 2016.

Cooper started the process of rebuilding the elections board Friday by informing the state Democratic and Republican parties that he plans to create an interim panel with five members of the current elections board, unless he receives different picks from the state parties. The interim board would last until the new law takes effect Jan. 31.

He said he would appoint both Democrats and Republicans to comply with pre-2016 state elections law he says is temporarily back in force.

“All of these members have election law experience and an awareness of the circumstances around the allegations involved in the Ninth Congressional District election,” Cooper said in his letter to state party heads.

But state GOP Chairman Robin Hayes said the dissolving board’s four GOP members “will not accept appointments to an unconstitutional, illegal sham Roy Cooper creation.” Republicans instead will withhold GOP nominees until the new law takes effect, he said.

The outgoing state board refused a last-minute formal request by Harris to certify him the winner.

The elections board reorganization threatens to delay the Jan. 11 hearing. Lawyers for Harris and McCready had a Monday deadline to submit requests to the elections board for people they wanted to have compelled to appear and testify at next month’s hearing. But if the current elections board is disbanded without a new one to replace it, the board chairman or vice chairman who could issue the requested subpoenas wouldn’t exist.

Last week, elections board chairman Josh Malcolm said in an affidavit to the three-judge panel that investigative staffers — who can continue working through any reorganization — had collected more than 182,000 pages of materials in response to 12 subpoenas.

Malcolm said Friday that the elections board issued “numerous additional subpoenas” before disbanding. In a letter to Harris’ attorney, Malcolm wrote that the GOP candidate had turned over only about 400 pages of subpoenaed documents and had yet to produce another 140,000 documents. Harris also had so far failed to arrange a requested interview with agency staffers, Malcolm said.

Harris’ campaign committee has pored through about 135,000 documents that needed review, the Republican’s attorney David Freedman said Friday. Harris “has cooperated and intends to continue cooperating with the investigation,” Freedman said.

If House Democrats refuse to seat Harris, it wouldn’t be the first time a chamber of Congress delayed or rejected seating a new member. In 2009, U.S. Senate leaders initially refused to seat Roland Burris as the replacement for President-elect Barack Obama’s Illinois seat. Burris had been named to succeed Obama by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was eventually convicted on corruption charges for trying to sell the Senate appointment.

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Social Media’s Year of Falling From Grace

Undocumented Worker at Trump Property: No Regrets for Coming Forward

Shutdown to Shutter Museums, Some Parks

Alaska Senator to Revive Bill Meant to Help Native American Women

Supreme Court Keeps Lower Profile, but for How Long?

Trump Puts His Stamp on ‘America First’ Foreign Policy in 2018

President Donald Trump fleshed out his “America First” political doctrine in 2018 with policies aimed at shaking up institutions of the post-World War II world order. VOA’s diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine takes a look on how U.S. foreign policy is shifting under Trump.

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US Agency Offers Advice to Cash-Strapped Workers

As the partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government stretched into its sixth day with no end in sight, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is offering advice on how to deal with an interrupted cash flow.

Nearly 800,000 federal employees have either been furloughed or will be working without pay and facing potential problems paying bills and meeting other expenses.

"Feds, here are sample letters you may use as a guide when working with your creditors during this furlough," the agency said in a tweet Thursday, directing the reader to its website.

OPM suggested workers call their landlord, mortgage company, or creditor to speak with them about their situation. It said the call should then be followed up with a letter and offered samples of how it should be worded.

"I am a Federal employee who has recently been furloughed due to a lack of funding of my agency. Because of this, my income has been severely cut and I am unable to pay the entire cost of my monthly payments, along with my other expenses," reads one sample letter that OPM released.

The website made it clear that if furloughed workers need legal help, they are on their own. "If you need legal advice to assist you in any response to creditors, landlords or the like, consult with your personal attorney or contact your state or county bar association, many of which maintain lawyer referral services," it said.

With most lawmakers away from Washington for the holidays, the shutdown will likely stretch into the new year.

President Donald Trump has vowed to keep the government closed until he gets $5 billion to fund his border wall.

According to the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents federal employees, about 420,000 federal employees are working without pay, while 380,000 others have been told to stay home.

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Partial Federal Shutdown Unlikely to End This Year

Feinstein Seeks Hearing to Probe Migrant Children's Deaths

Sen. Dianne Feinstein called Thursday for the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing early next year regarding the deaths of two children in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.

In a letter to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Feinstein, D-Calif., requested a hearing "on the care and treatment of children in the custody of Customs and Border Protection." Graham is set to chair the committee in the new year.

Feinstein, the highest-ranking member of her party on the committee, called the deaths of the two children "heartbreaking incidents" and said the Judiciary Committee was "uniquely situated to examine these issues."

Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security reported that Jakelin Caal Maquin, 7, from Guatemala had died hours after being taken into Border Patrol protection. This week, the agency said that a Guatemalan boy, Felipe Alonzo-Gomez, 8, had died late Christmas Eve in CPB custody.

In the letter, Feinstein called on CBP to ensure that children are released from detention within 72 hours as required by law. She also demanded the agency account for the need to communicate with detainees in their native languages and develop standards of care in consultation with pediatricians and child welfare experts.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Wednesday said all children in Border Patrol custody had received medical screenings and that she had directed additional actions to care for those who enter U.S. custody.

On Thursday, DHS announced that Nielsen would travel Friday to El Paso, Texas, and Saturday to Yuma, Ariz.

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US Government Backs Giant Cross Memorial Critics Call Illegal

WASHINGTON — 

The U.S. government Thursday asked the Supreme Court to rule in favor of a giant cross that serves as a war memorial, which critics say is an unconstitutional state religious endorsement.

"The removal or destruction of a 93-year-old war memorial would be viewed by many as the action of a government that is not neutral but hostile on matters of religion and is bent on eliminating from all public places and symbols any trace of our country's religious heritage," the Justice Department said in documents sent to the nation's top court, which is to consider the case in 2019.

The 40-foot (12-meter) cross was erected in 1925 in Bladensburg, Md., near Washington, to honor the memory of 49 local soldiers killed in World War I. It is built on public land approximately six miles from the Supreme Court, and its maintenance is paid for with public funds.

For that reason, the Washington-based American Humanist Association (AHA) holds that the monument violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment forbidding the government from favoring any one religion.

The group lost an initial court case on the issue but an appeals court disagreed with the first ruling.

"The display aggrandizes the Latin cross in a manner that says to any reasonable observer that the [Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning] Commission either places Christianity above other faiths, views being American and Christian as one in the same, or both," the appeals court said in December 2016.

The American Legion, a U.S. veterans organization, then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Other monuments

Any ruling by the top court will have implications for numerous monuments across the country, including two other crosses situated inside the Arlington military cemetery on the edge of Washington.

For the administration of Donald Trump — many of whose members openly profess their Christianity — the country's founding fathers may have banned religious coercion but understood "the acknowledgement of religion in public life."

"Passive displays generally fall on the permissible side of that line, because they typically do not compel religious belief; coerce support for, or participation in, any particular religion or its exercise," the government said.

It argued that "the context, history and physical setting of the display underscore its secular message: commemoration and respect for the fallen."

No date has been set for the Supreme Court hearing of the case.

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Report: Cell Records Back Claim of Cohen-Russia Meeting in Prague

WASHINGTON — 

Cellphone records show that Michael Cohen was near Prague during the summer of 2016, supporting claims that Donald Trump's former attorney met there with Russian officials during the presidential election campaign, the McClatchy news service reported Thursday.

Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison this month after pleading guilty of tax evasion and other crimes, has denied ever visiting Prague.

Since then, however, Cohen has turned on his former boss and has been cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is investigating whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to get him elected to the White House.

Details of Cohen's cooperation with the Mueller probe have not been publicly revealed, and Trump vehemently denies any collusion with Russia.

The purported meeting between Cohen and Russian government officials in Prague was first reported in a document with compromising material on Trump compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

Steele dossier

According to what has become known as the Steele dossier, Cohen had a clandestine meeting with Kremlin officials in Prague in August 2016 to discuss hiding links between members of the Trump campaign and Russia.

McClatchy, publisher of the Miami Herald and other newspapers, said a mobile phone traced to Cohen had briefly sent signals off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016.

"The brief activation from Cohen's phone near Prague sent beacons that left a traceable electronic signature," it said.

Citing "four people with knowledge of the matter," McClatchy said that the electronic record supports "claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials."

"During the same period of late August or early September [2016], electronic eavesdropping by an Eastern European intelligence agency picked up a conversation among Russians, one of whom remarked that Cohen was in Prague," McClatchy cited "two people familiar with the incident" as saying.

"The new information regarding the recovery of Cohen's cellphone location doesn't explain why he was apparently there or who he was meeting with, if anyone," McClatchy said.

"But it adds to evidence that Cohen was in or near Prague around the time of the supposed meeting," it said.

Shared with Mueller

McClatchy said the intelligence pointing to the presence of Cohen near Prague had been shared with the special counsel's office.

Among the crimes Cohen pleaded guilty to was lying to Congress about the status of a Trump real estate project in Moscow.

Cohen acknowledged that the talks to build a Trump Tower in Moscow continued until at least June 2016 — six months longer than he had told Congress.

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Defying Pundits, GOP Share of Latino Vote Steady Under Trump

LITTLETON, COLO. — 

Pedro Gonzalez has faith in Donald Trump and his party.

The 55-year-old Colombian immigrant is a pastor at an evangelical church in suburban Denver. Initially repelled by Trump in 2016, he’s been heartened by the president’s steps to protect religious groups and appoint judges who oppose abortion rights. More important, Gonzalez sees Trump’s presidency as part of a divine plan.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Gonzalez said of the president. “He was put there.”

Though Latino voters are a key part of the Democratic coalition, there is a larger bloc of reliable Republican Latinos than many think. And the GOP’s position among Latinos has not weakened during the Trump administration, despite the president’s rhetoric against immigrants and the party’s shift to the right on immigration.

In November’s elections, 32 percent of Latinos voted for Republicans, according to AP VoteCast data. The survey of more than 115,000 midterm voters — including 7,738 Latino voters — was conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

Other surveys also found roughly one-third of Latinos supporting the GOP. Data from the Pew Research Center and from exit polls suggests that a comparable share of about 3 in 10 Latino voters supported Trump in 2016. That tracks the share of Latinos supporting Republicans for the last decade.

The stability of Republicans’ share of the Latino vote frustrates Democrats, who say actions like Trump’s family separation policy and his demonization of an immigrant caravan should drive Latinos out of the GOP.

“The question is not are Democrats winning the Hispanic vote — it’s why aren’t Democrats winning the Hispanic vote 80-20 or 90-10 the way black voters are?” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster. He argues Democrats must invest more in winning Latino voters.

The VoteCast data shows that, like white voters, Latinos are split by gender — 61 percent of men voted Democratic in November, while 69 percent of women did. And while Republican-leaning Latinos can be found everywhere in the country, two groups stand out as especially likely to back the GOP — evangelicals and veterans.

Evangelicals comprised about one-quarter of Latino voters, and veterans were 13 percent. Both groups were about evenly split between the two parties. Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist in California, said those groups have reliably provided the GOP with many Latino votes for years.

“They stick and they do not go away,” Madrid said. Much as with Trump’s own core white voters, attacks on the president and other Republicans for being anti-immigrant “just make them dig in even more,” he added.

Sacramento-based Rev. Sam Rodriguez, one of Trump’s spiritual advisers, said evangelical Latinos have a clear reason to vote Republican. “Why do 30 percent of Latinos still support Trump? Because of the Democratic Party’s obsession with abortion,” Rodriguez said. “It’s life and religious liberty and everything else follows.”

Some conservative Latinos say their political leanings make them feel more like a minority than their ethnicity does. Irina Vilariño, 43, a Miami restauranteur and Cuban immigrant, said she had presidential bumper stickers for Sen. John McCain, Mitt Romney and Trump scratched off her car. She said she never suffered from discrimination growing up in a predominantly white south Florida community, “but I remember during the McCain campaign being discriminated against because I supported him.”

The 2018 election was good to Democrats, but Florida disappointed them. They couldn’t convince enough of the state’s often right-leaning Cuban-American voters to support Sen. Bill Nelson, who was ousted by the GOP’s Spanish-speaking Gov. Rick Scott, or rally them behind Democrats’ gubernatorial candidate, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who lost to Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis.

Still, in the rest of the country, there were signs that pleased Democrats. Latinos voted at high rates in an election that saw record-setting turnout among all demographic groups. Latinos normally have among the worst midterm turnout rates, and while official data won’t be available for months, a number of formerly-Republican congressional districts in California and New Mexico flipped Democratic.

That’s why Republicans shouldn’t take solace from being able to consistently win about one-third of Latinos, said Madrid. They’re still losing two-thirds of an electorate that’s being goaded into the voting booth by Trump.

“That is contributing to the death spiral of the Republican Party — even if it holds at 30 percent,” Madrid said. “That’s a route to death, it’s just a slower one.”

Gonzalez, the pastor, sees the trend in Colorado. He distributed literature across Spanish-speaking congregations supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton, who was crushed by Democratic Rep. Jared Polis as the GOP lost every race for statewide office.

Gonzalez understands the anger among some Latinos at the GOP and Trump for what he says is a false impression of a solely hardline immigration stance. “In the community that is not informed, that is following the rhetoric of the media, there’s a view that Donald Trump is a bad guy,” Gonzalez said. Evangelicals “understand that he’s there to defend values.”

Gonzalez’s church is Iglesia Embajada del Reino, or Church of the Kingdom’s Embassy. On a recent Saturday night, an eight-piece band played Spanish-language Christian rock before Gonzalez walked to the podium. Wearing a blue corduroy blazer, blue shirt and grey slacks, Gonzalez, a onetime member of a Marxist group in Colombia, told his congregants that they were ambassadors of a higher power — the kingdom of God.

“It’s important that your political opinions, your social opinions,” not enter into it, Gonzalez said. “We need to represent the position of The Kingdom.”

Gonzalez did not mention Trump in his sermon, though he spoke about the Bible as a book of governance.

Afterward the congregation gathered for bowls of posole, a traditional Mexican soup. When politics came up, church-goers struggled to balance their enthusiasm for some of Trump’s judicial appointments with their distaste at his rhetoric and actions.

“I think the president has good, Christian principles,” said Jose Larios, a parks worker. “But we feel as Latinos that he doesn’t embrace our community, and our community is good and hard-working.”

Oscar Murillo, a 37-year-old horse trainer, is not a fan of Trump’s. But he tries to stay open-minded about Republicans. He voted for the GOP candidate for state attorney general, who visited the congregation before the election. “He’s in the same party as Trump, but he seems different,” Murillo said.

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Medical Screenings Ordered After 2nd Migrant Child Dies in US Custody

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has ordered medical checks on all children in its custody after an 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died. It is the second death of a child in the agency's care this month. The deaths come amid intense debate in Washington over border security and President Donald Trump's immigration policies. VOA's Jesusemen Oni has more.

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Trump Returns After Visiting Troops in Iraq

Analysts Look Ahead at Uncertain North Korean Talks

Partial US Government Shutdown Unlikely to End Thursday

Federal Shutdown Precedes Return to Divided Control of US Congress

Trump Visits Iraq on Unannounced Visit

President Donald Trump has made an unannounced visit to Iraq to visit U.S. troops stationed there.

"President Trump and the First Lady traveled to Iraq late on Christmas night to visit with our troops and Senior Military leadership to thank them for their service, their success, and their sacrifice and to wish them a Merry Christmas," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a tweet.

This is Trump's first visit to a conflict zone as president.

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US Government Shutdown Enters Day 5

Trump and Democrats Prepare for a Reset in 2019

Trump and Democrats Prepare for Reset in 2019

The year 2018 proved to be one of change in U.S. politics. Opposition Democrats won back control of the House of Representatives in the November midterm elections, and that could have a profound impact on the next two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

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Trump Praises Treasury Secretary Mnuchin But Hits Fed Again on Rate Rises

Trump: Shutdown Won't End Until Wall Funded

The partial shutdown of the U.S. government has moved no closer to a resolution, with President Donald Trump asserting on Tuesday the shutdown will continue until his demand for funds to construct a U.S.-Mexico border wall are met.

"I can't tell you when the government is going to be open. I can tell you it's not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it," Trump said in the Oval Office after a video conference with U.S. troops, who are stationed overseas.

Trump claimed the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are furloughed due to the shutdown also want the wall, despite a lack of evidence supporting the contention.

On Monday, Trump asserted Democrats "must end" the standoff while Democratic leaders in Congress blamed Trump for "plunging the country into chaos."

The two sides traded their accusations ahead of Christmas, the fourth day in which parts of the government are closed because Congress and Trump have not been able to agree on necessary spending legislation.

While government agencies dealing with national security and public safety remain open, other offices are closed and 800,000 federal workers are on furlough. Those who are considered to be essential employees are reporting for duty, but will not get a paycheck for that work until the shutdown is over.

"The president wanted the shutdown, but seems not to know how to get himself out of it," Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and incoming House speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a joint statement.

"The stock market is tanking and the president is waging a personal war on the Federal Reserve after he just fired the secretary of defense," they said.

Trump has demanded $5 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats have offered $1.3 billion for other border security measures.

The president canceled his Christmas vacation to his Florida resort because of the impasse with Congress.

"I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security," he tweeted Monday. "At some point, the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy."

Another Trump tweet claimed "virtually every Democrat" strongly supported a "Border Wall or Fence" but turned against the idea after he made it an important part of his campaign for president.

Most Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have rallied around Trump's demand.

"One would think that securing our homeland, controlling our borders and protecting the American people, would be bipartisan priorities…a core duty of any nation's government," Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.

In the past, Democrats have been open to approving additional border security funding, including money for a wall, as part of a larger deal on immigration reform.

Earlier this year, Democrats were willing to support wall funding in return for protections for so-called "Dreamers" -- immigrants brought to America illegally as children – a deal Trump initially hailed but later abandoned.

Democrats say Trump was willing to sign a deal to keep the government operating without the full $5 billion, but backed out after those Schumer calls and "right-wing radio and TV talk show hosts" complained.

"Different people from the same White House are saying different things about what the president would accept or not accept...making it impossible to know where they stand at any given moment," Schumer and Pelosi said.

What is certain, though, is the government will remain closed at least through Thursday and, according to acting Chief of Staff Nick Mulvaney, quite possibly into 2019.

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GOP Allies Still Trying to Figure out How to Read Trump

American Women Turned Anger into Activism in 2018

2018 has been dubbed "The Year of the Woman," after a record number of women were electetd to national, state and local legislatures across the United States. The diverse group includes several first-timers who took the leap into politics in response to the Trump administration's policies. VOA's Jesusemen Oni reports.

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2018 Another Tumultuous Year for Trump and the Media

It was another contentious year between U.S. President Donald Trump and the reporters who cover his administration. The president continues to refer to journalists as "enemy of the people." White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.

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Trump, First Lady Talk With Kids Tracking Santa

WASHINGTON — 

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump took calls from children anxious to find out where Santa is on his gift-giving journey.

In one conversation, Trump asked a 7-year-old named Coleman, “Are you still a believer in Santa?” He listened for a moment before adding, “Because at 7, it's marginal, right?” Trump listened again and chuckled before saying, “Well, you just enjoy yourself.”

Mrs. Trump told a caller that Santa was in the Sahara. Several minutes later, she reported that Santa was far away in Morocco but would be at the caller's home on Christmas morning.

Mrs. Trump later tweeted that helping children track Santa “is becoming one of my favorite traditions!”

The NORAD Tracks Santa program became a Christmas Eve tradition after a child mistakenly called the forerunner to the North American Aerospace Defense Command in 1955 and asked to speak to Santa.

The program wasn't affected by the government shutdown. It's run by volunteers at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado using pre-approved funding.

The Trumps later traveled to Washington National Cathedral to attend the Solemn Holy Eucharist of Christmas Eve. The cathedral's website said the program included readings from Holy Scripture, favorite congregational hymns and seasonal choral and instrumental music as well as Holy Communion. Passes were required.

Trump most likely would have been attending Christmas services at a church near his estate in Palm Beach, Florida. But he scrapped plans to head to Florida for the holidays after parts of the government were forced to shut down indefinitely in a budget stalemate with Congress.

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Democrats, Trump Blame Each Other for Government Shutdown Chaos

Trump Blames Fed for Market Turmoil

Films on Iconic Justice Ginsburg Detail Exceptional Life and Contributions

Films on Iconic Justice Ginsburg Detail Exceptional Life and Contributions

As Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recovers from surgery on Friday for early stage lung cancer, two new films are paying tribute to her life and many accomplishments. VOA's Penelope Poulou reports how the senior justice of Court's liberal wing is being portrayed on film.

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Departing Senators Decry America's Toxic Political Discourse

From Capitol Hill, a blunt message: America's political discourse is broken, threatening the nation's wellbeing and possibly democracy itself. So said retiring or defeated U.S. senators in their farewell addresses as the current Congress comes to a close. VOA's Michael Bowman has this report.

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Court Says Justice Ginsburg Up and Working After Surgery

WASHINGTON — 

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is up and working as she recuperates from cancer surgery.

A spokeswoman for the court, Kathy Arberg, also says that Ginsburg remained in New York at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on Sunday. No information has been released on when Ginsburg might return home.

Ginsburg underwent surgery Friday to remove two malignant growths in her left lung. Doctors say there is no evidence of any remaining disease.

Now 85, the justice has been treated for cancer two other times. Last month she cracked three ribs in a fall at the court.

The court next meets on Jan. 7. Despite her health problems, Ginsburg has never missed arguments.

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No End in Sight for Partial US Government Shutdown

The U.S. government is partially closed until at least Thursday – and possibly for days or even weeks beyond. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, President Donald Trump last week rejected a stopgap spending bill that did not include funds for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

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No End in Sight for Partial US Government Shutdown

Trump Aide: White House, Central Bank Tension not Unusual

WASHINGTON — 

A White House official says tension between a president and the interest-rate setting Federal Reserve is "traditional as part of our system.''

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says it should come as no surprise that President Donald Trump is unhappy the central bank, an independent agency, "is raising rates and we think driving down the value of the stock market."

Speculation about the fate of Trump's appointed Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, has swirled after Bloomberg News reported that Trump discussed firing Powell after this past week's rate increase.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted Saturday that Trump has denied ever suggesting that and doesn't believe he has the right to dismiss Powell.

Mulvaney also tells ABC's "This Week" that the economy's "fundamentals are still strong."

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US Federal Government Shutdown Enters Second Day

Federal Shutdown Compounds Risks for US Economy

States Help Run US National Parks During Shutdown

Departments Affected by Partial US Government Shutdown

Shutdown to Continue as Senate Adjourns Until Thursday

US State Department Says Special Envoy McGurk Resigns

WASHINGTON — 

Brett McGurk, the special envoy for the global coalition to defeat Islamic State, submitted his resignation on Friday, effective Dec. 31, a U.S. State Department official said on Saturday.

A person familiar with the matter said McGurk has quit because he objected to President Donald Trump's decision to pull out U.S. troops from Syria, a decision followed by the resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis a day later.

CBS reported McGurk's resignation earlier on Saturday.

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Trump Reportedly Discussed Firing Fed Chairman Powell

U.S. President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Bloomberg reported Saturday.

Citing four people familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg reported Trump has become more frustrated with Powell after months of stock market losses and the central bank's interest rate hike on Wednesday.

Advisers reportedly have warned Trump that firing Powell would further roil financial markets, yet they said Trump has discussed the matter many times in the past few days.

The sources who spoke with Bloomberg on condition of anonymity were not convinced Trump would fire Powell, and were hopeful the president's anger over the situation would subside over the holidays.The White House and the Federal Reserve have declined to comment.

A firing of Powell would come after weeks of heavy losses in the markets. On Friday, equities closed their worst week since 2011, with the S&P 500 Index plummeting more than 7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index plunging into a bear market.

Trump has been busy shaking up his administration since the November midterm elections. He has announced the departures of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Defense Secretary James Mattis.

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Holiday-season Gridlock in DC Brings Partial Federal Closure

WASHINGTON — 

Christmas-season gridlock descended on the nation’s capital Saturday like an unwelcomed present just before the holiday as America’s elected leaders partially closed down the government over their inability to compromise on money for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Congressional Democrats are refusing to accede to President Donald Trump’s demands for $5 billion to start erecting his long-promised barrier, and the stalemate is a chaotic coda for Republicans in the waning days of their two-year reign controlling government.

Vice President Mike Pence, Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney left the Capitol late Friday after hours of bargaining with congressional leaders produced no apparent compromise.

Mulvaney sent agency heads a memorandum telling them to “execute plans for an orderly shutdown.” He wrote that administration officials were “hopeful that this lapse in appropriations will be of short duration.” That expectation was widely shared.

With negotiations expected to resume, the House and Senate scheduled rare Saturday sessions. House members were told they would receive 24 hours’ notice before any vote.

The impasse blocks money for nine of 15 Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture, State and Justice.

The disruption affects many government operations and the routines of 800,000 federal employees. Roughly 420,000 workers were deemed essential and will work unpaid just days before Christmas. An additional 380,000 will be furloughed, meaning they will stay home without pay.

Federal employees already were granted an extra day of vacation on Monday, Christmas Eve, thanks to an executive order that Trump signed this past week. The president did not go to Florida on Friday as planned for the holiday.

Those being furloughed include nearly everyone at NASA and 52,000 workers at the Internal Revenue Service. About 8 in 10 employees of the National Park Service were to stay home; many parks were expected to close.

The Senate passed legislation ensuring that workers will receive back pay. The House seemed sure to follow suit.

Some agencies, including the Pentagon and the departments of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services, were already funded and will operate as usual.

The U.S. Postal Service, busy delivering packages for the holiday season, will not be affected because it’s an independent agency. Social Security checks will be mailed, troops will remain on duty and food inspections will continue.

Also still functioning will be the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard. Transportation Security Administration officers will continue to staff airport checkpoints and air traffic controllers will be on the job.

Trump has savored the prospect of a shutdown over the wall for months. Last week he said he would be “proud” to close down the government, and on Friday said he was “totally prepared for a very long” closure. Many of Congress’ most conservative Republicans welcomed such a confrontation, but most GOP lawmakers have wanted to avoid one because polling shows the public broadly opposes the wall and a shutdown over it.

Initial Republican reaction to the shutdown was muted. Among the few GOP lawmakers who issued statements as it began were Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who expressed disappointment at the lack of a deal, and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. “This is a complete failure of negotiations and a success for no one,” Alexander said.

The Democratic leaders, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, said in a statement that Trump “threw a temper tantrum and convinced House Republicans to push our nation into a destructive Trump Shutdown in the middle of the holiday season.”

Trump had made clear last week that he would not blame Democrats for any closure. Now, he and his GOP allies have spent the past few days saying Democrats bear responsibility.

The president said now was the time for Congress to provide taxpayers’ money for the wall, even though he long had claimed Mexico would pay for it. Mexico repeatedly has rebuffed that idea.

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Syria, Mattis and Shutdown Spells Chaos in Washington

This past week has been one of the most chaotic of Donald Trump's presidency. A battle over the president's border wall, a key military decision on Syria and the unexpected resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis were all key moments in a week of turmoil that has become a hallmark of the Trump White House. More now from VOA national correspondent Jim Malone.

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US House, Senate Adjourn, Partial Government Shutdown Assured

Report Puts Russia, China and Iran in Line for Sanctions for Election Meddling

Partial Government Shutdown Appears Likely as US House Adjourns

US Intelligence Report: Russia, China, Iran Sought to Influence 2018 Elections

WASHINGTON — 

Russia, China and Iran sought to meddle in the recent U.S. midterm election, but their actions did not compromise the "nation's election infrastructure that would have prevented voting, changed vote counts, or disrupted the ability to tally votes," according to a report released Friday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Director Dan Coats said U.S. intelligence did find "Russia, and other foreign countries, including China and Iran, conducted influence activities and messaging campaigns targeted at the United States to promote their strategic interests."

But he said the intelligence community "did not make an assessment of the impact that these activities had on the outcome of the 2018 election."

The ODNI report on election meddling now goes to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the attorney general (AG), who have another 45 days to review the findings. If both the AG and DHS concur with the findings, the report could trigger automatic sanctions against Russia, China and Iran.

The U.S. intelligence community findings on election meddling support the initial assessment by DHS in the days and weeks following November's midterm elections.

"There were no indications at the time of any foreign compromises of election equipment that would disrupt the ability to cast or count a vote," Christopher Krebs, head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, said in mid-November, adding at the time, "We haven’t changed that assessment."

Quick reaction to the new report came from Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner, who said in a statement, "As the Director of National Intelligence reminds us, the Russians did not go away after the 2016 election.

"Now that the Russian playbook is out in the open, we’re going to see more and more adversaries trying to take advantage. ... Congress has to step up and enact some much-needed guardrails on social media."

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Differences With Trump's Views Prompted Mattis Departure

Trump: Democrats 'Own' Looming Government Shutdown

Russia Probe May be Headed for Climax in 2019

Russia Probe May be Headed for a Climax in 2019

The Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller gained momentum during 2018 with guilty pleas and convictions targeting former associates of President Donald Trump. The probe could be headed for an epic climax in 2019, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.

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What Happens in a Partial Government Shutdown

US Withdrawal From Syria Causes Concern of Conflict Escalation

Analysts say the withdrawal of U.S. troops will lead to a shift in the balance of power in northeastern Syria. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States has achieved its goal of defeating Islamic State in Syria and U.S. troops have begun pulling out. But some analysts say the terrorists have not been wiped out from the war-torn country and that the U.S. withdrawal could entice them to come out of the woodwork. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports.

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China ‘Resolutely Opposes’ New US Law on Tibet

BEIJING — 

China denounced the United States on Thursday for passing a new law on restive Tibet, saying it was “resolutely opposed” to the U.S. legislation on what China considers an internal affair, and it risked causing “serious harm” to their relations.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act.

The law seeks to promote access to Tibet for U.S. diplomats and other officials, journalists and other citizens by denying U.S. entry for Chinese officials deemed responsible for restricting access to Tibet.

Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since.

China: wrong signals

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily briefing that the law “sent seriously wrong signals to Tibetan separatist elements,” as well as threatening to worsen bilateral ties strained by trade tension and other issues.

“If the United States implements this law, it will cause serious harm to China-U.S. relations and to the cooperation in important areas between the two countries,” Hua said.

The United States should be fully aware of the high sensitivity of the Tibet issue and should stop its interference, otherwise the United States would have to accept responsibility for the consequences, she added, without elaborating.

Difficult life in Tibet

Rights groups say the situation for ethnic Tibetans inside what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region remains extremely difficult. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said in June conditions were “fast deteriorating” in Tibet.

All foreigners need special permission to enter Tibet, which is generally granted to tourists, who are allowed to go on often tightly monitored tours, but very infrequently to foreign diplomats and journalists.

Hua said Tibet was open to foreign visitors, as shown by the 40,000 American visitors to the region since 2015.

At the same time, she said it was “absolutely necessary and understandable” that the government administered controls on the entry of foreigners given “local geographic and climate reasons.”

Rights groups welcome law

Tibetan rights groups have welcomed the U.S. legislation. The International Campaign for Tibet said the “impactful and innovative” law marked a “new era of American support” and was a challenge to China’s policies in Tibet.

“The U.S. let Beijing know that its officials will face real consequences for discriminating against Americans and Tibetans and has blazed a path for other countries to follow,” the group’s president, Matteo Mecacci, said in a statement.

Next year marks the sensitive 60th anniversary of the flight into exile in India of the Dalai Lama, the highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

China routinely denounces him as a dangerous separatist, although the Dalai Lama says he merely wants genuine autonomy for his homeland.

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Trump Tweets: Defense Secretary Mattis to Retire in February

WASHINGTON — 

President Donald Trump has announced that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will retire at the end of February.

Trump says on Twitter that a new secretary of defense will be named soon.

Trump's announcement comes a day after he surprised U.S. allies and members of Congress by announcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.

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9 US States Seek to Stop Trump Administration's Atlantic Oil Testing

WASHINGTON — 

Attorneys general from nine U.S. states sued the Trump administration on Thursday to stop future seismic tests for oil and gas deposits off the East Coast, joining a lawsuit from environmentalists concerned that the tests harm whales and dolphins.

Seismic testing uses air gun blasts to map out what resources lie beneath the ocean. Conservationists say the testing, a precursor to oil drilling, can disorient marine animals that rely on finely tuned hearing to navigate and find food. The tests lead to beachings of an endangered species, the North Atlantic right whale, they say.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the tests would harm marine species, jeopardize coastal ecosystems and pose a "critical threat" to the natural resources, jobs and lives of New Yorkers. "The Trump administration has repeatedly put special interests before our environment and our communities," Underwood said in a statement.

The lawsuit, which names Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the National Marine Fisheries Service as defendants, says the prospect of seeing marine mammals is an important draw for tourists to the states and helps coastal economies.

The Department of Commerce declined to comment.

Permits to harass

Last month, the fisheries office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, part of the Commerce Department, issued permits to WesternGeco LLC, a subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd., and CGG to harass, but not kill, marine mammals with air gun blasts in a region of the Atlantic from Delaware to Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Jennie Lyons, a spokeswoman at the fisheries office, declined to comment on the lawsuit but said the department only authorized harassment, not outright killing, of the marine animals in issuing the permits. A marine biologist at the office told reporters last month that no seismic tests have been known to cause whale beachings.

The permits, part of President Donald Trump's "energy dominance" agenda to boost oil output for U.S. consumption and for exports, also went to ION GeoVentures, Spectrum Geo Inc. and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The other attorneys general are from Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia. They joined a suit filed earlier this month by groups including the Coastal Conservation League, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Oceana.

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Trump Lashes Out as House Struggles With Avoiding Shutdown

WASHINGTON — 

With last-minute efforts to avert a government shutdown in disarray, the White House suggested Thursday that President Donald Trump is not onboard with a critical spending agreement because it lacks billions of dollars for “steel slats or a wall” at the Mexican border.

Trump himself lashed out at Republican leaders on Twitter after speaking by telephone with GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan. Then Trump’s press secretary issued a statement saying the president “does not want to go further without border security,” including money for the wall.

Trump, who has faced rare, bitter criticism from some fellow Republicans over the past day for “caving” on wall funding, was to meet with House GOP members at midday and “is continuing to weigh his options,” the White House statement said.

As House Republicans struggled to find the votes to pass the legislation ahead of a midnight Friday deadline, Trump started blaming GOP leaders for failing to deliver on the $5 billion he had demanded for the wall. Ryan had promised a “big fight” after the midterm elections, but as Republicans lost House control, negotiations over the year-end spending bill have largely been between Trump and Democrats.

“I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership,” Trump tweeted shortly after calling Ryan during a morning meeting of House Republicans. “Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!”

The day’s schedule was thrown into chaos. A morning press conference of GOP leaders was abruptly canceled as lawmakers filed out of a basement meeting to head to the floor for other matters. Voting was not set.

“Republicans are in a state of disarray,” said House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is poised to become speaker when Democrats take control Jan. 3. “Wall funding is a non-starter.”

The temporary funding bill would keep government running to Feb. 8, but some House Republicans say it’s better to fight for the border wall now, before they relinquish their majority to Democrats in the new year. Facing enormous criticism from high-profile conservative media figures, they don’t want to leave town without one last fight over the border wall.

Rep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican and House Freedom Caucus member, said some Republicans want to “continue to fight for wins we promised the American people we would get.”

“I don’t know anybody that’s ready to vote for this,” he said.

Members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus have been urging Trump to insist on money for the border wall with Mexico. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a leader of the group, said Trump should veto the funding bill if it passes.

“I’m not afraid of losing the vote, but I am afraid of not fighting,” said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas. “That’s how this president got in. We want a secure border. It’s not the time to quit.”

Without a deal, more than 800,000 federal workers would face furloughs or be forced to work without pay, disrupting government operations days before Christmas.

Trump has not indicated whether he would sign or veto the legislation if it is approved. With Pelosi’s backing the bill likely has enough support to pass with votes mostly from Democratic lawmakers, who are still the minority, and some Republicans.

The White House had previously indicated that Trump was open to reviewing whatever Congress could send him. But the president did not immediately weigh in on the short-term spending plan, which would fund government past Friday’s deadline to Feb. 8. The Senate passed the bill Wednesday.

Trump in an early morning tweet on Thursday had appeared to focus on other aspects of border security, and not just the wall.

“With so much talk about the Wall, people are losing sight of the great job being done on our Southern Border by Border Patrol, ICE and our great Military,” Trump tweeted. “Remember the Caravans? Well, they didn’t get through and none are forming or on their way. Border is tight. Fake News silent!”

Trump appeared earlier in the week to shelve his shutdown threats after promising a fight over the wall, a project central to his presidential campaign. Just last week Trump said he would be “proud” to shut down the government over it. Some of his allies described the move as caving on his pledge and they expressed concern it could hurt Trump’s 2020 prospects.

Meadows said Trump’s political base “will just go crazy” if he signs a stopgap bill without the wall money.

Meadows added on Fox News, “A lot of people are very nervous this morning about whether the president will cave or not.”

Trump had been directing his ire at Democrats, tweeting that they were “putting politics over country.”

The president also put Democrats on notice Thursday about their agenda for the new year, saying he “will not sign any of their legislation, including infrastructure, unless it has perfect Border Security.”

Trump wanted $5 billion. The bill keeps funding at current levels, $1.3 billion, for border security and fencing, but not for the wall.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said passing the stopgap funding bill would show that Republicans, still in control of the House and Senate, could finish the year by not prolonging a potential crisis.

It was unclear how many House members might return for votes. Some 70 members missed Wednesday’s session, almost as many Democrats as Republicans.

Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York have made it clear they will not support money for Trump’s wall.

Schumer said Democrats oppose Trump’s border demands because the wall is “inefficient” and because Trump, as a candidate, promised that Mexico would pay for it, which Mexico has refused to do.

“We want smart, effective border security,” Schumer said. “That’s not a wall.”

Congress did pass legislation to fund much of the government through the current budget year, until next Oct. 1.

At issue in the current fight is money for nine of 15 Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture, State and Justice, as well as national parks and forests.

Many agencies, including the Pentagon and the departments of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services, are covered for the year and would continue to operate as usual. The U.S. Postal Service, busy delivering packages for the holiday season, would not be affected by any government shutdown because it’s an independent agency.

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Trump Pulling US Troops Out of Syria. Might Afghanistan Be Next?

WASHINGTON — 

Against the advice of many in his own administration, President Donald Trump is pulling U.S. troops out of Syria. Could a withdrawal from Afghanistan be far behind?

Trump has said his instinct is to quit Afghanistan as a lost cause, but more recently he’s suggested a willingness to stay in search of peace with the Taliban. However, the abruptness with which he turned the page on Syria raises questions about whether combat partners like Iraq and Afghanistan should feel confident that he will not pull the plug on them, too.

“If he’s willing to walk away from Syria, I think we should be concerned about whether Afghanistan is next,” Jennifer Cafarella, the director of intelligence planning at the Institute for the Study of War, said in an interview Wednesday.

The U.S. has been at war in Afghanistan for 17 years and still has about 15,000 troops there helping government troops combat the Taliban. The approximately 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are training and advising Iraqi security forces as they continue to fight Islamic State militants, a battle the U.S. entered in 2014 after IS swept into Iraq from Syria.

Before other officials confirmed the withdrawal decision, Trump tweeted, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” The aspect of this that he did not address is whether the extremists or others will fill the security vacuum created by the U.S. withdrawal to regroup and pose a new threat.

The administration said it intends to continue combatting Islamic State extremists globally and could return to Syria if necessary. Still, critics launched a barrage of questions about the implications of Trump’s decision, including whether it opens the door for Turkish forces to attack the Syrian Kurds who had partnered with the U.S.

Kori Schake, deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote on the Atlantic.com website Wednesday that the Syria decision ought to unsettle every ally that relies on U.S. security assurances.

“The governments of Iraq and Afghanistan ought to be very, very worried,” she wrote. “For if Syria can be so lightly written off, the fight arbitrarily declared won, what is the argument for continuing to assist Iraq — where ISIS is even more defeated? And if Trump has so little interest in stabilizing security and assisting governance in Syria, how can Afghanistan have confidence that he won’t make the same decision about them, when the fight there is costlier and progress less evident?”

These and other questions about the Trump decision and its broader implications were on the minds of many in Congress. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, denounced what he called a betrayal of the Syrian Kurds.

“Now the President seems content to forsake their trust and abandon them to a potentially bloody conflict with Turkey,” Reed said. “This decision also significantly increases the security risks to our key regional partners in Israel, Iraq and Jordan.”

Trump has argued for a Syria withdrawal since he was a presidential candidate in 2016, and he has repeated his view several times since taking office.

On Thursday, Trump defended his decision, saying on Twitter: “Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning on it for years, and six months ago, when I very publicly wanted to do it, I agreed to stay longer.”

He added: “Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever?”

Still, the decision appeared to catch many in his administration by surprise; Pentagon officials offered no details on the timing or pace of the withdrawal, nor could they square it with numerous statements by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis about the importance of remaining in Syria to assure stability.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and typically a Trump supporter, said he was “blindsided” by the decision and called it “a disaster in the making.” He said, “The biggest winners in this are ISIS and Iran.”

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said the withdrawal would be a “grave error with broader implications” beyond the fight against IS. He called it “one more example of how the United States is not a reliable partner.”

Just last week, the U.S. special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk, said U.S. troops would remain in Syria even after the Islamic State militants were driven from their strongholds.

“I think it’s fair to say Americans will remain on the ground after the physical defeat of the caliphate, until we have the pieces in place to ensure that that defeat is enduring,” McGurk told reporters on Dec. 11. “Nobody is declaring a mission accomplished. Defeating a physical caliphate is one phase of a much longer-term campaign.”

And two weeks ago, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. still has a long way to go in training local Syrian forces to prevent a resurgence of IS and stabilize the country. He said it will take 35,000 to 40,000 local troops in northeastern Syria to maintain security over the long term, but only about 20 percent of them have been trained.

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