Both houses adjourn without acting to end closure, as Democrats prepare to assume control of Congress next week

A partial government shutdown caused by an impasse over Donald Trump’s proposed wall on the Mexican border will continue into 2019 after both chambers of Congress adjourned on Thursday without acting to end the closure.

There had been a narrow chance that the House would convene on Thursday afternoon and vote on a deal to end the shutdown. But no headway was made, and Trump remained insistent that the shutdown would continue until Congress supplies billions for the border wall, which he says will help tackle illegal immigration.

The president accused the Democrats on Thursday morning of “obstruction” for failing to go along with his wall idea and asserted that Democrats “know it [the wall] is really needed”. Democrats say a border wall would be an expensive and ineffective solution to a problem that Trump exaggerates.

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The shutdown went into effect at midnight on 21 December. The Republican majority in the Senate was unable to rally support for Trump’s wall, after House Republicans passed an 11th-hour wall funding bill on 20 December.

Negotiations to reopen the government, such as there have been, will shift when Congress reconvenes on 3 January, when a new Democratic majority takes control of the House. Having failed to procure wall funding when his party controlled both houses of Congress, it was unclear how Trump intended to carry the day with Democrats partially in charge.

Representative Nancy Pelosi, who will assume the role of speaker on 3 January, said in a statement: “We will vote swiftly to reopen government and show that Democrats will govern responsibly in stark contrast to this chaotic White House.”

Play Video 1:26 US government shutdown will last until deal on border wall: Trump – video

Trump continued to berate Democrats throughout the day, tweeting: “This isn’t about the Wall … This is only about the Dems not letting Donald Trump & the Republicans have a win.” Trump also revived a 2011 tweet on immigration from Barack Obama, which read: “I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration.” Trump added: “I totally agree!”

Some national parks have been closed, federal employees furloughed and agency operations suspended during the shutdown, which becomes more complicated to unwind and more expensive the longer it lasts.

As the shutdown entered its sixth day on Thursday, James, a minimum-wage contractor sidelined from his job as an office worker at the Interior Department, said he was worried. “I live check to check right now,” he told the Associated Press, adding that he risks missing his rent or phone payment. Contractors, unlike most federal employees, may never get back pay. “I’m getting nervous,” he said.

Federal workers and contractors forced to stay home or work without pay are experiencing mounting stress from the impasse affecting hundreds of thousands of them. For those without a financial cushion, even a few days of lost wages during the shutdown could have dire consequences.

As well, the disruption is starting to pinch citizens who count on a variety of public services, beyond those who’ve been finding gates closed at national parks. For example, the government won’t issue new federal flood insurance policies or renew expiring ones.

Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) Secret Service guys SAY the Hendrix guy is usually pushed outside the gates on 15th but the shutdown allows him to blast away at the edge of the WH grounds pic.twitter.com/t2gqqihpzl

“Please stay tuned to future updates for more information,” said the office of the Republican whip, Steve Scalise, in a statement on Thursday.

Associated Press contributed to this report