The United States government officially shut down on Wednesday after Congress and President Donald Trump failed to break a budget impasse.
This is America's 15th funding lapse since 1981 and the first since the record 35-day shutdown of 2018–2019.
Leaders of both parties are privately and publicly adamant that they will not be blamed for the funding lapse: Republicans insist Democrats need to simply agree to extend current funding for another seven weeks. Democrats refuse to do so without major concessions for lending their votes to pass any funding measure in the Senate, as per CNN.
Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are placing the blame squarely on US President Donald Trump and Republicans.
"After months of making life harder and more expensive, Donald Trump and Republicans have now shut down the federal government because they do not want to protect the healthcare of the American people," the Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.
Senators left the Capitol tonight in a state of deep uncertainty about how long the shutdown could last. The Senate is on track to vote again tomorrow morning on the same GOP funding plan -- which Republican leaders have vowed to put on the floor day after day until enough Democrats yield and agree to reopen the government.
The shuttering of the federal government means that hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be furloughed, while others who are considered essential will have to keep reporting for work -- though many won't get paid until the impasse ends. Still others, however, will continue collecting paychecks since their jobs are not funded through annual appropriations from Congress, as per CNN.
Every government shutdown differs, but typically functions that are critical to protect lives and property are deemed essential and stay open. Previous shutdowns canceled immigration hearings and delayed federal lending to homebuyers and small businesses, among other impacts, CNN reported.
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