The United States government entered a shutdown on Wednesday after President Donald Trump and lawmakers failed to resolve a budget standoff driven by Democratic demands for more health care funding.
Both parties quickly traded blame for the deadlock, which is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of federal workers and millions of Americans who rely on government services.
The shutdown halts operations across multiple agencies and departments, deepening partisan rifts in Washington. It is the first such stoppage since the record 35-day closure during Trump’s earlier term.
Trump threatened to retaliate against Democrats and their supporters by cutting public sector jobs and rolling back progressive programs.
“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,” Trump told reporters. He added that “a lot of good can come down from shutdowns” and that he would use the pause to “get rid of a lot of things we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things.”
Government operations began winding down at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) after the Senate failed to pass a stopgap measure previously approved by the House of Representatives.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, posted a midnight video showing a countdown clock over the Capitol, declaring: “The Republican shutdown has just begun because Republicans wouldn’t protect America’s health care. We are going to keep fighting for the American people.”
Essential services such as the Postal Service, military operations, and welfare programs like Social Security and food stamps will continue. However, up to 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed daily without pay until the impasse is resolved, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson pressed Schumer on social media: “How long will Chuck Schumer let this pain go on — for his own selfish reasons?” He warned the shutdown would disrupt nutrition programs for mothers and children, veterans’ health care, FEMA disaster funding, and pay for soldiers and TSA agents.
Former vice president Kamala Harris blamed the Republicans, writing: “This is their shutdown.”
The Senate, which requires 60 votes to pass funding bills, rejected a House-backed seven-week extension after Democrats demanded the restoration of billions in health care spending, especially for the Affordable Care Act.
The dispute follows failed White House negotiations earlier this week and adds to mounting anxiety among federal employees, already shaken by mass firings carried out under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.
The length of the closure remains uncertain. Since 1976, the government has shut down 21 times, including the longest in history — the 2018-2019 closure over Trump’s $5.7 billion border wall demand.
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