US government shutdown festers into third week after ninth failed Senate vote

Democrats and Republicans accused each other of inflexibility, while federal workers face disrupted paychecks

The government shutdown festered into its third week on Wednesday after lawmakers failed to advance legislation that would restore funding, with Republicans and Democrats still at odds over spending priorities and healthcare provisions.

The ninth failed Senate vote came as the parties gathered separately at the Capitol to accuse one another of being inflexible, while military families – and federal workers more broadly – face the prospect of disrupted paychecks by month’s end.

Before the afternoon Senate vote, the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, convened Democratic colleagues outside the Capitol building, condemning Republicans for leaving Washington.

“House Republicans shut the government down, then they ran out of town,” Jeffries said, adding that his party stood “ready, willing and able to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement”.