Congress Gridlock Forces Government Shutdown as Spending Talks Collapse

By Elizabeth Elkind, Alex Miller | Fox News

Thousands of federal workers to go with out paychecks, could face firings.

The federal government is officially entering a partial shutdown on Wednesday after the midnight funding deadline passed with Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on a funding bill.

An earlier attempt by Senate Republicans to pass a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 government funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), was sunk by Democrats who were furious about being sidelined in shutdown negotiations.

The bill, which would have given Congress until Nov. 21 to set FY 2026 funding priorities, passed the House largely along party lines on Sept. 19. The Senate is expected to vote on the same bill again on Wednesday, with more votes to come through the rest of the week and into the weekend until either a deal is struck or Democrats relent.

House Republicans have been away from Washington in order to pressure the Senate to pass their bill. House Democrats, however, returned this week in a bid to paint a contrast between themselves and the GOP.

In addition to their anger over being sidelined, Democrats had also pushed for a CR to extend Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic but were set to expire at the end of 2025.

Republican leaders signaled they were willing to discuss those healthcare dollars later this year but accused Democrats of risking the entire federal government over their demands.

“There isn’t any substantive reason why there ought to be a government shutdown. This is something that has been done routinely, as I said, 13 different times when the Democrats had the majority. But we are not going to be held hostage for over $1 trillion in new spending on a continuing resolution,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said ahead of the vote.

President Donald Trump and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) now have wide discretion over what federal services will remain active. However, thousands of government workers are set to be furloughed or made to temporarily work without paychecks, and a litany of federal agencies could be closed.

OMB Director Russ Vought released a memo shortly after the GOP’s CR failed that said because it was “clear” that Senate Democrats would block any more attempts to pass the bill before the deadline, “affected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.”

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