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href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/">Homepage</a></li><li class=breadcrumb-item><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/">news</a></li><li class=breadcrumb-item><a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/">Politics</a></li></ul><h1 class="article-title "><span>St Patrick's Day: Taoiseach's visit to White House in doubt</span></h1><div class=teaser>Democrats' opposition to funding bill could shut down US government — and it could scupper Micheál Martin's planned White House trip</div><figure><img src="/cms_media/module_img/9015/4507888_18_articlexlarge_dan_20mmartin_2010.jpg" title="St Patrick's Day: Taoiseach's visit to White House in doubt" alt="St Patrick's Day: Taoiseach's visit to White House in doubt" data-src="/cms_media/module_img/9015/4507888_18_articlemedium_dan_20mmartin_2010.jpg" fetchpriority=high loading=eager sizes="(max-width: 520px) calc(100vw - 60px), (max-width: 767px) 438px, 576px" srcset="/cms_media/module_img/9015/4507888_18_articlexlarge_dan_20mmartin_2010.jpg 1600w, /cms_media/module_img/9015/4507888_18_articlelarge_dan_20mmartin_2010.jpg 1200w, /cms_media/module_img/9015/4507888_18_articlemedium_dan_20mmartin_2010.jpg 800w, /cms_media/module_img/9015/4507888_18_articlesmall_dan_20mmartin_2010.jpg 600w"> <figcaption class=imgFCap><p>Taoiseach Micheál Martin's planned St Patrick’s Day meeting with Donald Trump is in jeopardy due to the optics of the White House hosting such an event during a threatened US government shutdown. Picture: Dan Linehan</p></figcaption></figure></div></div><div class="byline date-byline">Wed, 19 Feb, 2025 - 11:50</div><div class=author-byline><div class="byline">Elaine Loughlin, Political Editor</div></div><div class=generic-text><div class="ctx_content"><div class=share-buttons-mobile><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41577289.html" class=share-popup id=share-f aria-label="Share on Facebook" target=popup><i class="fa fa-facebook-f"></i></a> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Irish Examiner - https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41577289.html" id=share-w aria-label="Share on WhatsApp" data-action=share/whatsapp/share target=popup><i class="fa fa-whatsapp"></i></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41577289.html" class=share-popup id=share-x aria-label="Share on X" target=popup><svg width=19 height=19 aria-hidden=true viewbox="0 0 24 24"><g><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></g></svg></a><span id=expand-share><i class="fa fa-ellipsis-v"></i><div class=expanded-icons style="display: none"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41577289.html" class=share-popup id=share-l aria-label="Share on LinkedIn"><i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i></a> <a href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41577289.html&title=St Patrick's Day: Taoiseach's visit to White House in doubt" class=share-popup id=share-r aria-label="Share on Reddit"><i class="fa fa-reddit-alien"></i></a> <a href="mailto:?subject=Irish Examiner Article&body=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41577289.html" id=share-m aria-label="Share - mail" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a></div></span></div><story><p class="">Fresh doubts have been cast over the <span lang="EN-US"><a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='</span>https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41576602.html'>Taoiseach’s St Patrick’s Day trip to the White House</a> over fears it will clash with a threatened US government shutdown.</p><p class="">The US federal government is edging towards a full shutdown next month, unless the Democrats agree to approve a funding bill by March 14, the day Micheál Martin is expected to visit the White House.</p><div class="inline-paywall-IE-template"><p class="">Mr Martin <span lang="EN-US"><a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='</span>https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41572879.html'>is scheduled to visit Austin, Texas</a> before travelling to Washington on March 11 for a series of events up to March 14.</p><p class="">Concerns have now been raised around the optics of having a <span lang="EN-US"><a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='</span>https://www.irishexaminer.com/maintopics/st-patricks-day_topic-5085038.html'>St Patrick’s Day</a> party in the White House if thousands of federal employees are left without pay, with fears that <span lang="EN-US"><a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='</span>https://www.irishexaminer.com/maintopics/donald-trump_topic-10151.html<span lang="EN-US">'></span>Donald Trump</a>'s administration could pull the event.</p><p class="">A senior Government source said: “We are pragmatic, we are keeping an eye on things. Our embassy is keeping a close eye on things.</p><p class="">“We are monitoring all that is happening in the US very closely, but we have a plan marked out for the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to visit the US.”</p><p class="">Congress is struggling to strike a deal to keep the US government funded, with Democrats, who are vehemently against the president’s efforts to overhaul the federal government, saying they will not support the bill if president Donald Trump’s administration continues with proposed cuts.</p><p class=""><div class='multi-readmore' ><h3>Read More</h3><div class='readmore-wrapper'><div class="readmore-text readmore-item"><div class=quad-angle><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span></div><a href="/world/arid-41574310.html" class=readmore-event id="readmore-41574310" target="_blank">Judge orders Trump administration to lift funding block on foreign aid</a> <script type=speculationrules> { "prefetch": [ { "source": "list", "urls": ["/world/arid-41574310.html"] } ] } </script></div> <div class="readmore-text readmore-item"><div class=quad-angle><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span></div><a href="/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41576602.html" class=readmore-event id="readmore-41576602" target="_blank">Micheál Martin in unique yet pivotal role ahead of St Patrick's Day meeting with Trump</a> <script type=speculationrules> { "prefetch": [ { "source": "list", "urls": ["/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41576602.html"] } ] } </script></div> <div class="readmore-text readmore-item"><div class=quad-angle><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span></div><a href="/news/politics/arid-41572879.html" class=readmore-event id="readmore-41572879" target="_blank">ieExplains: Who's going where? 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