Federal Government Policy and Business

Trump government shutdown threat draws criticism, unnerves markets

Reuters: NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's threat to shut down the U.S. government to secure funding for a border wall rattled markets, drew criticism from his fellow Republicans and cast a shadow on Wednesday over congressional efforts to raise the country's debt ceiling and pass spending bills.

Congress will have about 12 working days when it returns on Sept. 5 from its summer break to approve spending measures to keep the government from shutting down, and a deadline also is closing in for raising the cap on the amount the federal government may borrow.

With those deadlines looming in late September and early October, Trump raised the prospect in a speech on Tuesday evening of a shutdown if Congress does not agree to fund his long-promised wall along the border with Mexico. U.S. stocks and the dollar weakened and investors pivoted to the safety of U.S. Treasury securities on Wednesday.

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