The United States government has entered its first shutdown since 2018 after Democrats and Republicans in the Senate failed to agree on a temporary spending bill. Funding officially lapsed at 00:01 EDT on Wednesday, marking the 15th shutdown since 1980, but one that carries unusual uncertainty. Unlike past closures, President Donald Trump has openly threatened to use the funding lapse as leverage to permanently shrink the federal workforce and cut public programs, warning that Democrats will face “irreversible” consequences. Essential services such as law enforcement, military, and air traffic control will continue without pay, while non-essential operations like loan approvals and the release of economic data have ground to a halt.
The impasse follows weeks of tense negotiations, with both parties accusing the other of pushing the country into crisis. Democrats rejected a Republican proposal for a short-term extension without expanded healthcare provisions, demanding renewed subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and reversals of Medicaid cuts included in Trump’s controversial One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Republicans countered that healthcare reforms should be debated separately and accused Democrats of holding the federal budget hostage. When the final votes were cast on Tuesday night, neither side could muster the 60 votes needed to pass their respective stopgap bills, leaving the government unfunded and hundreds of thousands of workers uncertain about their future.
As the shutdown takes effect, partisan blame dominates the narrative. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer branded it the “Republican shutdown,” accusing Trump’s party of sabotaging healthcare for millions of Americans. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed that sentiment, saying Republicans had chosen to “hurt everyday Americans.” Meanwhile, the White House fired back online with a blunt message reading “Democrat Shutdown” over a countdown clock. Analysts warn that the longer the standoff continues, the greater the risk to the US economy, with furloughed workers, delayed services, and the threat of permanent job cuts looming large. With both sides entrenched, the standoff is expected to drag on, testing how far Trump is willing to push his shutdown strategy.
