The US government officially shut down at 12:01 am Wednesday after the Senate failed to pass a funding extension before the midnight deadline. The vote fell 5 short of the 60 needed to advance the legislation, with the final tally at 55-to-45. As a result, most government agencies will cease operations except for "essential" services, such as law enforcement, potentially affecting air travel, economic reporting, and other federal functions.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem criticized Democrats for jeopardizing national security while requiring "frontline defenders" to continue working without pay. She highlighted that over 200,000 federal personnel, including 150,000 law enforcement officers and nearly 50,000 military members, will continue their duties unpaid during the shutdown.
Ahead of the vote, former President Donald Trump threatened to cancel programs favored by Democrats and warned of firing more federal employees if the government shut down. This comes amid the largest federal workforce reduction in 80 years, with more than 150,000 workers leaving through buyouts and tens of thousands already terminated earlier in the year. Trump has also resisted using billions in Congress-approved spending, prompting Democratic lawmakers to question the incentive to approve additional funding measures.
The shutdown marks the first interruption of US government operations in nearly seven years and underscores the partisan deadlock in Washington over budget and spending priorities.
