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US government could run out of money by Trump’s 100th day in office

Barring dramatic action, Trump will pass the 100-day mark next Saturday without a major legislative victory

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US lawmakers returning to Washington this coming week will find a familiar quagmire on health care legislation and a budget deadline dramatised by the prospect of a protracted battle between President Donald Trump and Democrats over his border wall. File photo: Reuters

After two weeks away, the 535 members of Congress return to Washington on Monday facing a critical deadline: they have five days to keep the government from shutting down, on the 100-day milestone of Donald Trump’s presidency.

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In a rare show of bipartisanship, Democrats and Republicans are united in their determination to keep the lights on. But it’s unclear how they will navigate the competing interests of their parties and the White House to find a solution that the three sides can support.

Meanwhile, the president has expressed pained awareness of the first 100-day mark, used as a benchmark since the first term of Franklin D Roosevelt. On Friday Trump dismissed the 100 days as a “ridiculous standard” by which to judge a president’s achievements, and predicted that the media wouldn’t give him the credit he considers himself owed.

Watch: Trump slams ‘first 100 days’ after embracing it

Barring dramatic action, Trump will pass the 100-day mark next Saturday without a major legislative victory – and with a conspicuous failure to guide his party to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. White House officials have reportedly pressed Republicans to vote on the healthcare law this week.

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