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U.S President Donald Trump has rejected to rule out forcing a government shutdown if Democrats do not stop their impeachment inquiry into him. The U.S President said, “We’ll see what happens”. It is important that hundreds of thousands of workers were furloughed or put on unpaid leave, while others in essential services during the last shutdown in December and January. The most affected essential services were hospital care, air traffic control, and law enforcement. They worked without pay for 35 days. It was the longest ever shutdown in American history. Trump was also asked about Democrat’s concerns that he could shut down the government again if they continue to pursue an impeachment inquiry against him.

President Trump replied, “I don’t think they believe that at all”. He was speaking on the White House lawn. He added, “I wouldn’t commit to anything. It depends on what the negotiations are”. It is noteworthy that the U.S Congress has a deadline of 22 November to reach a funding agreement before triggering a shutdown. The minority leader in the U.S Senate, Chuck Schumer said last week that he was increasingly worried that Trump could hold the U.S government hostage as a result of his anger with the impeachment inquiry which was launched last month after a whistleblower complaint from the unidentified U.S intelligence official who was concerned that the president’s actions on Ukraine were illegal and jeopardized the American national security.

The former National Security Council member Alexander Vindman described Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and allegations he used 391 million U.S dollars in US aid as leverage. Schumer suggested Trump could trigger a shutdown because he always likes to create diversions. He said, “I hope and pray he won’t want to cause another government shutdown due to it might be a diversion away from impeachment“. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has signaled the potential for public hearings as soon as later this month.