Secretary of State Rubio: Government shutdown weakens US position in the international arena
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US government shutdown also partly threatens national security.
According to TASS news agency on October 2, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the partial shutdown of the federal government weakens Washington's position in international relations and threatens US security.
"Democrats in Congress have decided to shut down the government. Their actions stem from partisan interests, weaken America's position in the international arena and threaten national security," the US Secretary of State shared on social network X on October 1 (Washington time).
The US government partially shut down at 0:00 on October 1 (12:00 Hanoi time) due to lack of funding. This happened because representatives of the ruling Republican Party and the opposition Democratic Party in the US Congress did not compromise on the issue of health care in the budget bill. Both sides blamed each other, causing the US government to shut down for the first time in 7 years.
Under US law, departments and agencies responsible for national security and foreign policy activities must continue to operate even if the federal government's budget is cut. Similar requirements apply to government employees whose jobs are intended to "protect life and property." Government employees forced to work in these circumstances are not paid, but they are usually paid after the budget issue is resolved.
Since 1977, the federal government's budget has been disrupted more than 20 times due to disagreements between the administration and Congress. The longest crisis was 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019 - during the first term of current US President Donald Trump.
