White House dismisses plan to end shutdown

Mitt Romney (right) has criticised Trump for his recent decisions

The White House on Wednesday rejected a proposal put forward by the opposition Democratic party to end the protracted partial government shutdown, asserting that any plan without a provision for funding US President Donald Trump's long-promised border wall is a "non-starter".

The over 10-day long partial government shutdown starting on December 22 has affected 8,00,000 federal employees, who have either been furloughed or are working without pay. Ahead of the start of the new Congress on January 3, in which the Democrats would enjoy majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi proposed to end government shutdown.

"The second bill would extend the Department of Homeland Security's funding through February 8. It is important to note that these bills contain no new wall funding," Pelosi said.

Top Pentagon spokeswoman resigns
The Pentagon's top spokeswoman, who was under investigation over misconduct allegations, has resigned. Dana White announced her resignation on Monday night, hours after outgoing Defence Secretary James Mattis sent his farewell message to department employees.

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