Trump inauguration anniversary marred by shutdown and protests

Protesters turned out in cities including Los Angeles, New York and Washington to express their opposition to Trump, and their support for women's rights.

People participate in the second annual Women's March in Los Angeles, California, US January 20, 2018.
Reuters

People participate in the second annual Women's March in Los Angeles, California, US January 20, 2018.

Donald Trump's first anniversary as US president was marred by chaos Saturday as lawmakers traded bitter recriminations over a government shutdown while mass demonstrations erupted in cities across the country.

The famed Statue of Liberty was among the federal sites that were shuttered on Saturday. But the real impact of the shutdown won't be fully felt until Monday morning, when hundreds of thousands of public sector workers will have to stay home without pay.

Reuters

People participate in the second annual Women's March in Los Angeles, California, US January 20, 2018

Highlighting the deep political polarisation, crowds estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands took to the streets of major US cities to march against the president and his policies.

"This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present," Trump, who is in Washington instead of celebrating at his Mar-a-Lago resort, wrote on Twitter in reference to the shutdown.

"Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border," he tweeted, later accusing the opposition party of "holding our Military hostage."

The impact of the shutdown will be felt acutely if it lasts into the coming work week. 

Essential federal services and military activity are continuing, but even active duty troops will not be paid until a deal is reached to reopen the US government.

'Holding pattern'

There have been four government shutdowns since 1990. In the last one in 2013, more than 800,000 government workers were put on temporary leave.

A deal had appeared likely on Friday afternoon, when Trump - who has touted himself as a master negotiator - seemed to be close to an agreement with Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on a measure to prevent the expulsion of undocumented migrants who arrived in the United States as children.

But no such compromise was in the language that reached Congress for a stop-gap motion to keep the government open for four more weeks while a final arrangement is discussed - and Republicans failed to win enough Democratic support to bring it to a vote.

AFP

People participate in Women's March 2.0, one year after women worldwide marched for women's rights and to protest US President Donald Trump's inauguration, in Seattle, Washington on January 20, 2018.

Congress reconvened for a rare Saturday session, where leaders of both sides were meant to hammer out their differences to prevent the shutdown from stretching into Monday. Instead, they traded accusations of responsibility for the shutdown.

Schumer said trying to negotiate with Trump "was like negotiating with Jell-O."

"It's impossible to negotiate with a constantly moving target," he said. "President Trump is so mercurial it's been impossible to get him to agree to anything."

The Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said Schumer "took the extraordinary step" of preventing the legislation from passing and thus "plunging the country into this totally avoidable mess."

AFP

An activist participates in the Women's March Los Angeles 2018 on January 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

Anti-Trump protests

Democrats have accused Republicans of poisoning chances of a deal and pandering to Trump's populist base by refusing to fund a program that protects 700,000 "Dreamers," undocumented immigrants who arrived as children, from deportation.   

Republicans have a tenuous one-seat majority in the Senate, but would have needed to lure some Democrats to their side to get a 60 vote supermajority to bring the motion forward. They fell ten votes short.

The measure brought to Congress would have extended federal funding until February 16 and reauthorised for six years a health insurance program for poor children - a long-time Democratic objective.

But it left out any action on the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, that affects Dreamers.

White House officials insisted there was no urgency to fix DACA, which expires March 5.

Reuters

Actor Whoopi Goldberg speaks to demonstrators as they take part in the Women's March in Manhattan in New York City, New York, US, January 20, 2018.

As US lawmakers wrangled over government funding, protesters turned out in cities including Los Angeles, New York and Washington to express their opposition to Trump, and their support for women's rights.

Protestors hoisted placards with messages including "Fight like a girl" and "A woman's place is in the White House" and "Elect a clown, expect a circus."

The president meanwhile posted a deadpan tweet referencing the rallies protesting his policies, urging people to "get out there and celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months."

Later Saturday, he tweeted again about the "unprecedented success for our Country, in so many ways, since the Election."

Hollywood celebrities were among those who turned out to protest on Saturday.

In Los Angeles, Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard, Scarlett Johansson, Constance Wu, Adam Scott and Rob Reiner were among the celebrities who addressed a crowd of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators at a women's march

"We have a racist in the White House, we have a sexist in the White House and we have a pathological liar in the White House who is tearing away at the fabric of our democracy," actor and producer Rob Reiner said at a rally in California.

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