WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump predicted that a U.S. government shutdown is likely, citing a stalemate between his party and Democrats.

“We’ll continue to talk to the Democrats but I think you could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time,” Trump said Friday in the Oval Office.

The prospect of a shutdown increased after Senate Republicans and Democrats earlier Friday each blocked rival plans to provide temporary funding.

The Senate, which can take several days to pass legislation, afterward left town for a break lasting until Sept. 29. The House plans a longer recess extending until Oct. 7.

Financial markets tend to shrug off threats of a shutdown as just more heated Washington rhetoric given the history of standoffs being resolved at the last minute. Both s

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