This is a huge deal.
As of midnight, the US government is now shut down for the first time in almost seven years.
This happened because the Senate is deadlocked on two competing funding bills, one proposed by Republicans and one by Democrats. Neither got the requisite amount of votes.
Explained: What is a shutdown and who does it impact?
Image:
Donald Trump speaking during a meeting of senior military leaders earlier in the day.
Pic: Reuters
This is not just about the politicians – real people will feel the impact of this shutdown.
National parks like the Grand Canyon, like Yosemite, will go unstaffed – some might close indefinitely.
Flights could get cancelled. The National Mall in DC, the iconic stretch between the Capitol – where these politicians work – and the Lincoln Memorial, could be chained up.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈
Trump has threatened mass layoffs of federal workers, who he says “will be Democrats”. It’s a scary time for them.
He is trying to spin this to his political advantage. He claims, falsely, that Democrats are trying to fund free healthcare for “illegal aliens”. Democrats are pushing to improve government help on affordable healthcare, but this would not extend to undocumented immigrants.
Republicans say Democrats have sacrificed the interests of the American people to have a public showdown with the president.
It would be folly to predict how long this stand-off will last.