discretionary

A shutdown takes place if an agreement is not reached by the start of the fiscal year on 1 October, meaning all non-essential discretionary functions stop.

More than a decade ago - in 2013 - lawmakers were accused of pocketing billions from their discretionary budgets for ghost projects.

But the sudden tariff expense has forced the firm to cut investments on things such as new equipment and spending on discretionary items like marketing.

The leadership change comes as rising prices and uncertainty over the knock-on effects of US tariffs have raised concerns over the impact on consumer spending, particularly for Target's discretionary products such as apparel and electronics.

"We see the US consumer behaving cautiously around discretionary spending," said the firm's chief executive Andrew Rees.