US government shuts down after Congress fails to cut deal on funding

The United States government officially shut down after Tuesday midnight (local time) after the Congress failed to pass key funding bills.

 

The White House directly blamed the Democrats for not cooperating, marking the first shutdown in six years. “Democrats have shutdown the government,” a White House webpage said, featuring a clock detailing the time that has passed since the shutdown began. At the time of publishing the report, 15 minutes had passed since it happened.

 

Earlier in the day, in a post on its official X account, the White House wrote: “Democrat shutdown is imminent in less than an hour. Americans don’t agree with Democrats’ actions.” In another post, it said: “Senate Democrats just voted to send the government into a shutdown. Democrat shutdown loading.” 

Placing blames

Shortly after the shutdown, several Democratic political figures began placing blame on President Donald Trump and the Republican party. In an X post, former vice president Kamala Harris said: “Let me be clear: Republicans are in charge of the White House, House, and Senate. This is their shutdown.”

 

According to CNN, in a joint statement, democratic leaders said that 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. 

Locked in a stalemate

 

The shutdown came as both Republicans and Democrats are locked in a stalemate, insisting the other would be responsible if Congress fails to extend government funding.

 

The fight centres on $1.7 trillion in “discretionary” spending, which funds federal agencies. Most of the remainder of the $7 trillion budget is allocated to health, pensions, and interest on America’s substantial $37.5 trillion debt.

 

Democrats want only a short extension of funding so they can also push for healthcare tax breaks that keep insurance costs lower for 24 million US citizens. Republicans prefer a longer extension until November, but want to debate healthcare separately.

Has there been a shutdown before?

 

There have been at least 14 partial shutdowns since 1981. However, most of them lasted just a few days, according to a Reuters report. 

 

The last time the United States faced a federal government shutdown was from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, which lasted 35 days and remains the longest shutdown in American history. Since then, there had been no full shutdown.

What it means for US workers

 

The shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay. Around 750,000 employees face furloughs, while “essential” staff such as air traffic controllers and border agents must work unpaid until funding resumes. 

 

Unlike past shutdowns, officials have warned of potential mass firings, raising fears of lasting job losses. Agencies like health and human services expect to furlough 41 per cent of staff, and the Federal Aviation Administration plans to sideline 11,000 workers, according to Reuters.