The United States federal government has officially shut down after Donald Trump shared a behind-the-scenes photo from his failed negotiations with Democrats.
The strike of midnight on Wednesday ushered in the first federal government shutdown since December 2018, when a standoff over border wall funding during President Trump’s first term led to a historic 35-day stoppage.
The Senate plans to vote on the twice-failed funding bill again on Wednesday morning, but most House Republicans are not even in Washington, leaving a timeline for a resolution an open question.
At the heart of the standoff is Democratic Party demands that Republicans agree to restoring cuts to healthcare that were enacted over the summer.
But their inability to strike an agreement means that a budget was not approved, leading to around 750,000 federal workers being put on unpaid leave, with some potentially facing being fired by the Trump administration.
