US government shuts down after Senate Democrats fail to support stopgap funding bill

The federal government partially shut down at midnight Wednesday, hours after all but three Senate Democrats voted down a short-term funding bill. 

The shutdown is the first since December 2018, which saw non-essential government operations cease and tens of thousands of federal employees furloughed or forced to work without pay for 35 days until lawmakers agreed on a stopgap funding measure. 

White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought notified federal department and agency heads shortly after Tuesday’s failed Senate vote to keep the government funded to begin preparations for a shutdown. 

“[A]ffected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.” Vought wrote in a memo. 

A House-passed bill – backed by virtually all Senate Republicans and President Trump – to keep the government open with funding at current levels until Nov. 21 failed to clear the 60-vote legislative filibuster in the upper chamber by five votes. 

In his memo, Vought noted that it’s “unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict.” 

Democratic congressional leadership refused to support the GOP measure unless provisions extending pandemic-era healthcare insurance subsidies and reinstating billions of dollars in funding for foreign aid and other programs cut by Trump were included. 

The Senate adjourned shortly after the failed vote. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said lawmakers would try again Wednesday morning. 

“I am hoping there are enough reasonable Democrats over there,” Thune said during an appearance on Fox News. “We picked up 3 tonight … we’re going to vote on it again tomorrow.” 

“Hopefully, we’re going to pick up some more and eventually, we’ll get enough to pass this thing and keep the government open.”

Thune told “Jesse Watters Primetime” that he expects Senate Democrats “are going to start cracking because they realize this is a losing hand.” 

A New York Times/Siena poll found that 65% of registered voters opposed a government shutdown “even if [Democrats’] demands are not met.”

Among registered Democrats, 43% were against shutting down the government even if the party is unable to win any concessions from Republicans.

Fifty-nine percent of independent voters also opposed a shutdown under any circumstances, as well as 92% of Republicans. 

Trump, who met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Monday to discuss the looming shutdown, posted several photographs of the meeting on Truth Social as the clock ticked after the failed vote. 

The images show the Democratic leaders in the Oval Office, with a couple of “Trump 2028” hats sitting in front of them on Trump’s desk. 

The president also posted another mocking, digitally-altered video clip of Jeffries wearing a sombrero, as a mariachi band of Trumps serenaded the Brooklyn Democrat. 

Trump and Republicans have accused Democrats of wanting to include “free health care for illegal aliens” in legislation to keep the government open, a claim Democratic leaders have denied. 

Earlier Tuesday, the president also teased “irreversible” actions that could be taken, including federal employee layoffs, when the government is shut down.

“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” Trump told reporters, referring to Democrats.

Vought instructed federal agencies last week to prepare to permanently dismiss employees in non-essential roles if there’s a shutdown.

Meanwhile, the White House website put up a countdown clock, declaring “Democrat shutdown is imminent” as midnight approached. 

A video loop of “Democrats in their own words” describing the negative effects of government shutdowns was also posted on all the White House’s social media accounts. 

“This is something that 13 times, when [ Schumer] was the majority leader, we passed short-term continuing resolutions — 13 times — and the Republicans delivered the vote for it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday morning. “This is a routine thing. This is not unusual.”

Schumer predicted that Trump and Republicans would face “tremendous” pressure to agree to Democratic demands and  reopen the government.

“It’s right now in the Republicans’ court,” the Senate minority leader said at a press conference. “We’ve said this to Trump yesterday. He can easily call up Thune and Johnson and say, ‘Just add the two parts [Democrats] want added to the bill.’” 

“The American people are learning how bad this healthcare crisis is and they will put tremendous heat on Republicans to solve it.”

Republicans counter that by voting against the short-term spending bill, it is Democrats that are imperiling benefit programs and potentially public safety.

“Troops won’t be paid. TSA agents won’t be paid. The WIC program — the Women Infants and Children Nutrition program — and other food services will be delayed,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on CNBC. “FEMA services won’t be provided. We have two hurricanes off the coast of the United States right now. I mean, we’re in the middle of hurricane season. This is serious stuff.”

Members of Congress, political appointees in the Trump administration and all essential congressional and federal employees — including postal carriers, air traffic controllers and others — would all be paid to work during a shutdown.

Federal benefits — including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, will continue to be distributed, along with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program providing food stamps.

US military service members, non-essential federal employees and White House staff would only be paid retroactively once the shutdown is over.