US Government Shuts Down As Budget Talks Collapse Between Trump And Lawmakers

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

THE United States government began shutting down on Wednesday after lawmakers and President Donald Trump failed to resolve a budget impasse during heated negotiations centred on Democratic demands for increased healthcare funding.

Republicans and Democrats immediately traded blame for the deadlock, which will affect hundreds of thousands of federal workers and disrupt services relied upon by millions of Americans.

The shutdown, which halts operations across numerous federal departments and agencies, comes amid deep partisan divisions in Washington, raising concerns over how long the crisis will last and the scale of its impact.

President Trump has threatened to punish Democrats and their supporters by targeting progressive priorities and imposing widespread public sector job cuts, marking the first shutdown since his previous term in office.

“So we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And they’re Democrats, they’re going to be Democrats,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Government operations officially ground to a halt at 12:01 am local time on Wednesday, after a frantic but unsuccessful attempt in the Senate to pass a short-term funding bill previously approved by the House of Representatives.