U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will soon begin firing federal employees if the president determines that negotiations with Democratic members of Congress on ending the government shutdown "are going nowhere." This was stated to Reuters news agency by a senior White House official. The government was shut down five days ago after a temporary budget was not approved, with Democrats conditioning their support for the budget bill on the administration's agreement to extend tax relief for millions of Americans insured under the public health insurance "Obamacare."