The U.S. Senate rejected both Republican and Democratic proposals to extend government funding, pushing the federal government to the brink of a shutdown.
President Trump and Republican leaders blame Democrats for the impasse, while Democratic leaders accuse the GOP of refusing to negotiate; polls show divided public opinion over who is at fault.
The US Government Shuts Down Over Funding Plan Impasse
At the heart of the deadlock are disagreements over healthcare funding, with Democrats demanding ACA tax credit extensions and a rollback of Medicaid cuts, while Republicans insist on passing a clean funding bill first.
Summary
The United States government has initiated a shutdown after the Republican and Democrat leaders failed to reach a consensus over two legislations.
The Republicans had tabled a proposal to fund the government through 21 November, which the Democrats blocked. The Republicans stopped a Democratic-backed measure that would have extended healthcare benefits and other priorities.
Both proposals did not reach the mark of the mandated 60 votes. The 55-to-45 vote and the following shutdown in the Senate means that hereon, only "essential" activities will continue, including law enforcement starting on Wednesday.
"Far-left interest groups and far-left Democrat members wanted to show down with the president, and so Senate Democrats have sacrificed the American people to Democrats’ partisan interests," Senate majority leader John Thune had said after the vote.
U.S. President Donald Trump's first term saw government shutdowns as well, including over immigration issues. It also accounted for the longest shutdown in American politics, lasting 35 days.
While the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said that Republicans are plunging America into a shutdown, rejecting bipartisan talks, pushing a partisan bill and risking America’s healthcare, the Trump administration had stated that it will terminate federal workers in case of a government shut down.
"When you shut it down, you have to do layoffs, so we’d be laying off a lot of people," Trump had said, adding: "They’re going to be Democrats."
At the heart of the issue is a $1.7 trillion that funds agency operations, which amounts to roughly one-quarter of the government's total $7 trillion budget. Much of the remainder goes to health and retirement programs and interest payments on the growing $37.5 trillion debt.
Airlines warned that a shutdown could slow flights, while the Labour Department said it would not issue its monthly unemployment report, a closely watched barometer of economic health.
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The Small Business Administration said it would stop issuing loans, and the Environmental Protection Agency said it would suspend some pollution-cleanup efforts.
After the voting, the White House office of management and budget released a letter, underlining "Democrats’ insane policy demands" for a shutdown it said was inevitable. “It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict,” the letter stated.
Amid the stalemate, three Democratic lawmakers voted for the Republican proposal. Another voting on the funding bills is scheduled on Wednesday, in the hope that more Democrats can change their preferences.
“The cracks in the Democrats are already showing,” Senate Republican whip John Barrasso said.
The Democrats leaders who voted in favour of the Republican bill stated that they did so not because they were in agreement with the Trump administration, but to avoid the alternate situation of a government shutdown.
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“I cannot support a costly shutdown that would hurt Nevada families and hand even more power to this reckless administration,” said Democratic senator Catherine Cortez Masto.
Angus King said: “The paradox is by shutting the government we’re actually giving Donald Trump more power, and that was why I voted yes.”
(with inputs from Reuters and The Guardian)
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