Thousands of federal workers missed their first pay cheque of the year on Friday as the US government shutdown neared an ignominious record for the longest in the nation’s history. Donald Trump had threatened to declare a national emergency to bypass congress and force through the spending plan at the centre of the dispute, which includes $5.7bn (£4.5bn) funding for the president’s controversial border wall contested by Democrats. The government shutdown will become the longest in US history on Saturday, surpassing the 21-day deadlock seen between December 1995 and January 1996 during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
