Frustrated US President Barack Obama tweets ‘they actually did it’ as Government shuts down

U.S. President Barack Obama took to Twitter to vent his anger after the  nation’s Government began to shut down after the two houses of Congress failed  to agree a new budget.

The Republican-led House of Representatives insisted on delaying Obama’s  healthcare reform – dubbed Obamacare – as a condition for passing a bill.

The President tweeted: “They actually did it. A group of Republicans in the  House just forced a government shutdown over Obamacare instead of passing a real  budget.”

They actually did it. A group of Republicans in the House just forced a  government shutdown over Obamacare instead of passing a real budget.

— Barack  Obama (@BarackObama) October  1, 2013

The development has left millions of Americans without services, while more  than 800,000 federal employees face unpaid leave with no guarantee of back pay  once the deadlock is over.

West Wing officials who oversee the running of Government departments were  taken by surprise after the White House wrongly believed there would be a  resolution before the deadline passed.

It is the first shutdown in 17 years and prompted the dollar to fall when  trading began today.

The embarrassing disruption which President Obama said was “entirely  preventable” and would “throw a wrench into the gears” of the country’s  recovering economy was triggered as Monday’s midnight deadline passed without  agreement between the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-run Senate.

It could cost the still-struggling U.S. economy $1billion a week, with  experts predicting a three-week closure could see as much as 0.9% from U.S. GDP  this quarter.

A series of further tweets from the President on Tuesday showed that he is  keen to press ahead with the reform.

Despite the shutdown, the new health insurance marketplace opens for business  as planned on October 1. #GetCovered

—  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October  1, 2013

“The Affordable Care Act is moving forward. You can’t shut it down.”  —President Obama #Obamacare

—  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October  1, 2013

This is huge: Today millions of Americans finally have the chance to enroll  in quality, affordable health care. #GetCovered

—  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October  1, 2013

Within minutes of Monday’s midnight deadline the West Wing began notifying  federal agencies to begin an “orderly shutdown” of services.

The move will affect huge departments of the U.S Government including  Defence, Commerce, Energy, Health, Justice, Transportation and Homeland  Security.

It will also see the country’s national parks and museums close after almost  90 per cent of their staff were sent home.

However the military and FBI have both been assured they will continue to be  paid as their work involves overseeing national security.

After the deadlock, House Speaker John Boehner said he hoped the Senate would  agree to a bipartisan committee known as a conference “so we can resolve this  for the American people”.

“The House has voted to keep the Government open but we also want basic  fairness for all Americans under Obamacare,” he said.

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