Trump plans major announcement

Associated Press

President Donald Trump said he’ll be making a “major announcement” on the government shutdown and the southern border on Saturday afternoon as the standstill over his border wall continues into its fifth week.

The White House declined to provide details late Friday about what the president would be announcing. But Trump was not expected to sign the national emergency declaration he’s been threatening as an option to circumvent Congress.

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HITTING HOME

The partial government shutdown is hitting home for President Donald Trump in a very personal way. He lives in government-run housing, after all. Just 21 of the roughly 80 people who help care for the White House

— from butlers to electricians to chefs — are reporting to work. The rest have been furloughed.

In the latest example of brinkmanship during the partial government shutdown, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi canceled her plans to travel by commercial plane to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan, saying President Donald Trump had caused a security risk by talking about the trip.

The Democratic governors of Michigan, New York and Washington on Friday asked the Trump administration to let states offer unemployment benefits to federal employees who are working without pay during the partial government shutdown that began nearly a month ago.

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QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Simply put, there is no rational justification to deny these employees the same short-term relief being offered to furloughed federal employees across the country,” said Democratic governors asking the Trump administration to let states offer unemployment benefits to those federal workers still on the job but not getting paid.

“We still have to make sure our kids eat, make sure to have a roof over their head,” said Shalique Caraballo, whose wife is a TSA worker in Atlanta. “We sweat in private and don’t let the kids see the struggle.”

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WHAT’S COMING NEXT?

President Trump says he will make a major announcement on the government shutdown and the southern border at 3 p.m. Saturday from the White House.

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WHAT REMAINS CLOSED

Nine of the 15 Cabinet-level departments have not been funded, including Agriculture , Homeland Security, State, Transportation, Interior and Justice. Some iconic National Park facilities are shuttered as are the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo in Washington. Nearly everyone at NASA is being told to stay home.

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WHO IS AT WORK BUT NOT GETTING PAID

An estimated 460,000 employees are working without pay, including at the FBI, TSA and other federal law enforcement offices. Also, about 340,000 workers have been furloughed. Some federal contractors have also discontinued their services, leaving thousands of employees temporarily without work and without a paycheck.