Trump to mark first anniversary of inauguration with glitzy gala

US President Donald Trump is set to depart Washington to celebrate his one-year inauguration anniversary at a glitzy gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, hours before the deadline to avoid a government shutdown on Friday midnight.

On Saturday, Trump will mark his first 12 months in office with a lavish party at the resort. The couple will spend the weekend in Mar-a-Lago, CNN reported.

The gala is being hosted by Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and gambling magnate Steve Wynn, according to reports.

Trump's trip comes amid the looming shutdown deadline as the President and Republican leaders in Congress raced to meet the Friday deadline to pass a short-term spending bill to keep agencies from shutting down.

"We believe that the bill will pass and the President will have an opportunity to sign it," White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters.

"I mean, some of the timing and logistics of travel will have to reflect the reality, but we expect it to be passed. And we expect the President to be able to travel to Florida this weekend."

Vice President Mike Pence is also scheduled to leave Washington on Friday evening for his three-country tour to the Middle East. He will visit Egypt, Israel and Jordan.

The House voted on Thursday night to keep the government open through mid-February but the legislation to prevent shutdown encountered obstacles in the Senate a few hours later.

The mix of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate who opposed the House bill for varying reasons left the legislation on the verge of defeat.

A bitter fight broke out on the Senate floor shortly after the House passage and was expected to continue on Friday.

Democrats demanded an immigration measure be added to the funding bill to protect a large group of young, undocumented immigrants known as "Dreamers".

The President, meanwhile, continued to push to build a wall along the US border with Mexico that many lawmakers do not want as part of any immigration deal.

--IANS

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