The United States government has entered its first shutdown in nearly seven years after Congress failed to agree on a last-minute funding deal on Tuesday night.
The deadlock means hundreds of thousands of federal employees deemed non-essential could face furloughs or layoffs, while critical services such as Social Security payments and the postal service will continue but may be strained by staffing shortages. National parks and museums are also expected to close.
The standoff centers on healthcare spending, with Democrats pushing to reverse recent cuts to Medicaid and Republicans refusing to back down. A Democrat-led proposal fell short in the Senate by 53–47 votes, while the Republican plan secured 55 votes, still five short of the threshold needed to avert a shutdown.
Following the failed votes, the White House budget office instructed agencies to execute their shutdown plans, blaming Democrats for what it called an “untenable” position.
President Donald Trump echoed that line, warning that the shutdown could lead to mass layoffs and permanent cuts to federal programs he says are important to Democrats.
“The last thing we want to do is shut it down, but a lot of good can come from shutdowns,” Trump said. “We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune accused Democrats of holding federal workers “hostage,” while Minority Leader Chuck Schumer countered that the Republican plan “does absolutely nothing to solve the biggest health care crisis in America.”
Talks between Trump and Schumer on Monday failed to break the impasse, with the Democrat leader warning that “large differences” remain.