US Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) speaks to reporters as he leaves the Senate Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 29, 2026. KEVIN DIETSCH / AFP
A US government funding shutdown looked increasingly certain Thursday, January 29, after Senate Democrats rejected a key procedural vote to express anger over the killing of two protesters against President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.
The failure to approve a six-bill spending package intended to fund more than three-quarters of the federal government makes a partial shutdown starting Saturday almost impossible to avoid, although Democrats and the White House were still frantically seeking a last-minute deal. It would be the second shutdown – when funding for swaths of the US government are temporarily frozen – since Trump took office a year ago.
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US government shutdown: Democrats split in the Senate, paving the way to end budget deadlock
