The US government shut down Wednesday after Congress and President Trump failed to resolve a budget impasse, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers affected.
The US government began shutting down Wednesday after Congress and President Donald Trump failed to reach a budget deal, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers in limbo. Lawmakers blamed each other for the deadlock, which threatens to disrupt essential services used by millions of Americans.
Government operations halted at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) following a failed Senate vote on a short-term funding resolution approved by the House. Vital functions like the military, Postal Service, and welfare programs such as Social Security remain unaffected.
Trump warned of potential public sector job cuts, saying, “So we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And they’re Democrats, they’re going to be Democrats.” Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer criticized the Republicans, posting, “The Republican shutdown has just begun because Republicans wouldn’t protect America’s health care.”