Trump warns government shutdown would be 鈥榙evastating鈥�

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media after arriving for a meeting at the Pentagon on January 18, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images/AFP)

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned Thursday of the 鈥渄evastating鈥� consequences of a government shutdown even as he lobbed wrenches into intense Republican maneuvering to avoid a politically embarrassing funding debacle.
With the federal government set to run out of money at midnight Friday, the president added to the chaos with a burst of early morning tweets.
He second-guessed Republican leaders in Congress and slapped down his own chief of staff who had been leading a White House push on Capitol Hill for a budget compromise.
Arriving at the Pentagon for a visit, Trump told reporters the government 鈥渃ould very well鈥� shut down Friday.
The House of Representatives was expected to vote as early as Thursday on a short-term funding measure, but it was unclear if Republicans had the votes to prevail.
In the event of a shutdown, federal employees for agencies considered non-essential are ordered to stay home until a budget deal is struck, at which point they are paid retroactively. The most recent shutdowns 鈥� in 1995, 1996 and 2013 鈥� saw some 800,000 workers furloughed per day.
Key government bodies such as the White House, Congress, State Department and Pentagon would remain operational, but would likely furlough some staff. The military would still report for duty, but troops 鈥� including in combat 鈥� would potentially not be paid.
鈥淎 government shutdown will be devastating to our military... something the Dems care very little about!鈥� Trump tweeted.
And yet in another tweet, Trump criticized the Republican short-term funding measure, opposing a sweetener intended to make it hard for Democrats to vote against it.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said later he had spoken to the president, and insisted: 鈥淗e fully supports passing what we鈥檙e bringing to the floor today.鈥�
The sweetener is a six-year extension of a popular children鈥檚 health insurance program, known as CHIP, a program Democrats have worked hard to protect.
But Trump insisted: 鈥淐HIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!鈥�
Republican Senator John Cornyn quickly corrected Trump in a counter-tweet: 鈥淭he current house Continuing Resolution package has a six-year extension of CHIP, not a 30 day extension.鈥�
Up against a similar deadline last month, lawmakers had passed a short-term resolution to keep the federal government funded until January 20.
Many Democrats are already opposed to another short-term fix, leaving Republicans to rely on their own divided caucus to advance the measure.
If it fails, Democrats will gain greater leverage to insist on a funding compromise that includes protection from deportation for the so-called 鈥淒reamers,鈥� the estimated 700,000 immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
Negotiations on a bipartisan compromise that includes a fix on DACA, as the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program is known, collapsed in acrimony at a White House meeting last week.
Trump鈥檚 reported reference to African nations and Haiti as 鈥渟hithole countries鈥� ignited a still smoldering political firestorm.
White House chief of staff John Kelly met Wednesday with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to make the case that Trump had 鈥渆volved鈥� on his signature campaign promise to build a wall the length of the US border.
Funding for border security, but not a full-blown wall, was part of the bipartisan budget compromise presented at last week鈥檚 contentious White House talks.
Participants at the meeting with Kelly quoted the retired general and former head of the Department of Homeland Security as saying Trump was not 鈥渇ully informed鈥� when he made the wall promise.
But Trump hit back on Twitter Thursday, writing: 鈥淭he Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it.鈥�
鈥淚f there is no Wall, there is no Deal!鈥� Trump said in another tweet that described Mexico as 鈥渘ow rated the most dangerous country in the world.鈥�
The president said some of the wall will be 鈥渟ee through鈥� 鈥� a protection, he said last July, against people throwing 鈥渓arge sacks of drugs鈥� over 鈥� and repeated that it will be paid for 鈥渄irectly or indirectly鈥� by Mexico.
鈥淭he $20 billion dollar Wall is 鈥榩eanuts鈥� compared to what Mexico makes from the US NAFTA is a bad joke!鈥� he said, reasserting his position on the trade pact which is currently being renegotiated.
Mexico once again said it would not pay for the wall.
The mixed messages from the White House prompted a rebuke Wednesday from frustrated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking for something that President Trump supports, and he鈥檚 not yet indicated what measure he鈥檚 willing to sign,鈥� McConnell told reporters.
鈥淎s soon as we figure out what he is for, then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels.鈥�