President Trump Says Election Results 'Tremendous Success'

Courtesy: MGN

The government is offering advice to federal workers saddled with bills they can't pay because of the partial federal shutdown that is expected to stretch into the new year.

Federal workers and contractors forced to stay home or work without pay are experiencing mounting stress from the impasse, which is hung up on President Trump's demand for money to build a border wall.

The Office of Personnel Management is advising furloughed federal workers to speak directly with landlords, mortgage companies and creditors to explain their lack of funds and work out reduced or deferred payment plans.

The OPM suggests that federal workers follow up the calls with letters that recount the conversation and share their phone number, address and the details of the call.

Sample letters can be found at www.opm.gov.

Back from a 29-hour trip to visit U.S. troops in Iraq, President Donald Trump is returning his attention to the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown, which is in its sixth day.

In a morning tweet, Trump says "we desperately need" a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, funding for which has been a flashpoint between the White House and Congress ever since Trump took office.

The president is calling on Democrats in Congress to fund his wall, saying the shutdown affects their supporters. He says: "Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?"

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are on unpaid furlough and even more are required to work without pay after Trump and Congress could not reach consensus on a short-term funding bill last week.

On Wednesday, President Trump said he'd do "whatever it takes" to get funding for border security.

Trump declined to tell reporters Wednesday what amount of wall funding he would accept to end the shutdown. Instead he cast blame on Democrats and said "the American public is demanding a wall."

Trump spoke to reporters who traveled with him to Iraq.

Trump has requested $5 billion for the wall, an amount Democrats have rejected. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer has said the wall funding will "never pass the Senate" and urged Trump to abandon the request so the government can be funded.

The shutdown started Saturday after funding lapsed for nine Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies. Roughly 420,000 workers were deemed essential and are working unpaid, while another 380,000 were furloughed.

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