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The federal government is officially entering a partial shutdown on Wednesday after the midnight funding deadline passed with Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on a funding bill.
An earlier attempt by Senate Republicans to pass a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 government funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), was sunk by Democrats who were furious about being sidelined in shutdown negotiations.
The bill, which would have given Congress until Nov. 21 to set FY 2026 funding priorities, passed the House largely along party lines on Sept. 19. The Senate is expected to vote on the same bill again on Wednesday, with more votes to come through the rest of the week and into the weekend until either a deal is struck or Democrats relent.
House Republicans have been away from Washington in order to pressure the Senate to pass their bill. House Democrats, however, returned this week in a bid to paint a contrast between themselves and the GOP.
SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS
The government is entering a partial shutdown after Congress failed to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)
In addition to their anger over being sidelined, Democrats had also pushed for a CR to extend Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic but were set to expire at the end of 2025.
Republican leaders signaled they were willing to discuss those healthcare dollars later this year but accused Democrats of risking the entire federal government over their demands.
“There isn’t any substantive reason why there ought to be a government shutdown. This is something that has been done routinely, as I said, 13 different times when the Democrats had the majority. But we are not going to be held hostage for over $1 trillion in new spending on a continuing resolution,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said ahead of the vote.
President Donald Trump and…
