Trump urges US government shutdown in unlikely bid to ‘defund’ his criminal prosecutions
- The US government will shut down on October 1 if Congress cannot reach a funding agreement
- Donald Trump, who led a 35-day shutdown in 2019, suggested Republicans let it happen again
Former US president Donald Trump has urged fellow Republicans in Congress to shut down the government to thwart the federal prosecutions against him, although any funding lapse was unlikely to stop the cases from being pursued.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives are at odds over how to proceed with spending legislation, which must be passed to avert an October 1 shutdown.
A small group of hardliners, including Trump’s most fervent supporters, have complicated the agenda for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he pushes a short-term funding plan.
“Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media site late on Wednesday, calling it “the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots”.
The US Justice Department has previously said activities funded by “permanent indefinite appropriations” would continue during any funding lapse.