U.S. government shutdown begins after Senate blocks GOP funding bill
The U.S. government entered a shutdown at midnight Tuesday after a Republican-backed funding bill failed to secure enough votes in the Senate.
Federal agencies will now suspend all but essential operations, disrupting key services including air traffic control, disaster relief, and other public programs.
The bill, which aimed to extend government funding for seven weeks, failed in a 55–45 vote, falling short of the 60 votes required. This marked the second Senate rejection of the measure after an earlier attempt in mid-September.
Partisan deadlock over healthcare spending
Democrats largely opposed the GOP bill, with only three breaking ranks to support it: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Senator Angus King of Maine. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican who voted against it.
A Democrat-backed funding proposal was also rejected earlier in the day. The GOP’s bill, passed by the House of Representatives in September, stalled in the Senate over disagreements tied to healthcare subsidies.
Democrats pushed to include healthcare support in the legislation, while Republicans argued the issue should be debated separately.
Trump and party leaders trade blame
President Donald Trump threatened to fire more federal workers if the government shut down, and later blamed Democrats for the impasse. Democratic leaders countered, accusing Republicans of driving up healthcare costs for millions of Americans.
Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report is also expected to be delayed due to the shutdown.
History of U.S. shutdowns
This marks the 15th government shutdown since 1981. The longest occurred in late 2018 and early 2019, lasting 35 days under Trump’s presidency. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that shutdown reduced U.S. GDP by $11 billion and affected about 800,000 federal workers.
Senate Republican Leader John Thune said the chamber will hold another vote on the House-approved bill later this week.
