US government shuts down after last-ditch Republican bill fails in Senate

The United States government shut down Wednesday at midnight (6AM CET) after Senate Democrats voted down the last-ditch Republican bill to extend federal funding for seven more weeks.

As Republicans only have 54 seats in the Senate and need 60 votes, Democrats used that as leverage to achieve their policy goals. With only 55 votes in favour and 45 against the bill, the vote fell short to pass the legislation.

Democrats want to negotiate an extension of the health subsidies immediately as people are beginning to receive notices of premium increases for the next year. Democrats have also demanded that Republicans reverse the Medicaid cuts.

Now that a lapse in funding has occurred, the law requires agencies to furlough their “non-excepted” employees. Excepted employees, which include those who work to protect life and property, stay on the job but don’t get paid until after the shutdown ends.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown. Following the vote, the White House's Office of Management and Budget issued a statement saying “affected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.”

After Tuesday's vote, it was increasingly unlikely that either side would reach an agreement. Both sides had blamed each other for the imminent shutdown, and refused to budge from their positions.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans are trying to “bully” Democrats by refusing to negotiate on an extension of expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of the year.

“We hope they sit down with us and talk," Schumer said after the vote. "Otherwise, it’s the Republicans will be driving us straight towards a shutdown tonight at midnight."

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said a government shutdown was "probably likely" and placed blame on the shoulders of Democrats.

Threatening retribution to Democrats, Trump said that a shutdown could include “cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”

The government's last shutdown happened from December 2018 until January 2019, during Trump's first term in office, due to a dispute over immigration and border security.