By TWV Reporter
A funding crisis has hit the United States Embassy in Nairobi, forcing it to scale down operations. In a post on its social media platforms on Wednesday, 1 October, the embassy announced that regular updates would cease until full operations resume.
“Due to the lapse in appropriations, this X account will not be updated regularly until full operations resume, with the exception of urgent safety and security information,” the statement read. The embassy clarified, however, that scheduled visa and passport services would continue as circumstances permit.
The move followed a funding cut-off for the US government after President Donald Trump’s Republican Party failed to reach an agreement with the Democrats on a way forward with the spending bill.
As a result, some, though not all, US government services came to a temporary halt. According to some international media reports, although budget confrontations are common in US politics, this particular spending dispute is especially tense because Mr Trump has spent the past nine months drastically reducing the size of the federal government.
In the past, prolonged shutdowns were usually regarded as politically damaging, disrupting voters’ daily lives and tarnishing the images of both lawmakers and the president.
This time, however, the Trump administration appears content to shutter large parts of government for an extended period. In fact, officials have threatened to use the shutdown to identify “non-essential” workers who could then be permanently dismissed.
“We’ll be laying off a lot of people,” Mr Trump said on Tuesday.
