The United States government has partially shut down after a last-ditch effort to pass a spending bill failed. Funding for the federal government expired at midnight on Wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of employees without pay.
President Trump had warned that he could use the shutdown to take actions against Democrats, including cutting vast numbers of people out of jobs and programs they like. However, experts say this is not authorized by Congress and may be seen as a threat.
The shutdown means some non-essential government services will halt, such as publishing key economic data and approving loans for small businesses. Essential workers, like law enforcement officers and military personnel, will remain on the job but without pay.
This is the first shutdown since 2018 and follows weeks of bickering between Democrats and Republicans over funding. The issue now shifts to Congress, where lawmakers must navigate their differences to pass a new spending bill.
The US government has shut down 15 times since 1980, with the longest shutdown lasting 34 days in late 2018 and early 2019.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/1/us-govt-shuts-down-after-republicans-democrats-fail-to-pass-spending-bill