WASHINGTON: Republicans in the US Congress huddled on Thursday to find a path forward after President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan deal to avert a partial government shutdown and demanded lawmakers abolish the nation’s debt ceiling.
Unless a deal passes the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democratic-majority Senate, the US government will begin a partial shutdown on Saturday that would interrupt funding for everything from air travel to law enforcement in the days leading up to Christmas and cut off paychecks for more than 2 million workers.