House vote likely Wednesday on ending US government shutdown

WASHINGTON: The effort to end the longest-ever US government shutdown on Wednesday (Nov 13) heads towards a final vote, as President Donald Trump declared victory in the political face-off and rival Democrats tore themselves apart over the deal. The House of Representatives appeared likely to vote on Wednesday on a spending Bill to solve the six-week standoff, after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate on Monday to side with Trump's Republicans. During a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump broke off to praise Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. "Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory," Trump said as he spotted Johnson in the audience. "We're opening up our country - it should have never been closed," added Trump, bucking US presidential tradition by using a ceremonial event to score political points. Trump said later he expected the Republican-controlled House to approve the Bill to fund the government through January. "Only people that hate our country want to see it not open," he told ESPN. "SERIOUS CALCULATIONS" Top Democrats have vowed to oppose the government-funding Bill, in large part because it does not directly address the extension of health insurance subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year. But it is likely to pass the House as it only needs a simple majority, which Republicans narrowly have. From the start, Trump had piled pressure on Democrats by letting the shutdown be as punishing as possible and refusing to negotiate on their demands on health insurance. A million federal workers went unpaid, food benefits for low-income Americans came under threat and air travellers faced thousands of cancellations and delays ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that the chaos could get worse by the weekend if the shutdown persists, with air traffic controllers unable to be paid and authorities ordering further slowdowns in flight traffic. "You're going to have airlines that make serious calculations about whether they continue to fly, full stop," Duffy told reporters at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.