Blinken says State Dept.'s work 'would clearly be affected' by gov't shutdown

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Friday said their work would clearly be affected by government shutdown, urging the US Congress "not to take this step."

When asked about a looming government shutdown during a joint press conference with Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Barcena, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Mexican Secretary of Economy Raquel Buenrostro in Washington, Blinken said: "We hope it doesn't happen.

"We're very focused on making sure that no matter what happens, we can focus our resources on advancing and protecting the national security. And of course, making sure that we can carry out the functions necessary to do that to protect human life, property and security," Blinken said.

"Our work would clearly be affected by this, it would make it harder to do everything that we do to try to advance national security. So we urge Congress not to take this step," he added.

During a shutdown, many of the federal government’s 4 million workers will be furloughed, or forced to remain home without a paycheck, while others deemed to be essential will work without pay. That includes the 1.3 million active-duty service members as well as federal law enforcement and air traffic controllers.

Lawmakers have until the end of the day Saturday, when the current fiscal year terminates, to pass a bill to fund the government and avoid a potentially catastrophic government shutdown.

It is unclear how long a closure would last, but many believe it is all but certain to take hold with persistent Republican infighting paralyzing the House of Representatives.