$1.7 Trillion at Risk, Midnight Deadline: US Faces Government Shutdown In Hours – What Happens Next?
The looming government shutdown comes amid a fierce partisan standoff over government spending.
Photo : AP
US President Donald Trump will meet top congressional leaders from both parties at the White House on Monday afternoon, with the government just 48 hours away from running out of money. The two sides remain deeply divided over how to keep federal funds flowing, leaving the nation on the brink of a shutdown.
At stake is $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending that covers agency operations. If no deal is struck and signed into law by midnight Tuesday, most federal functions will grind to a halt at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, triggering sweeping disruptions across the country, agencies reported.
From NASA projects to national parks, and from federal courts to small business grants, millions of Americans could feel the impact. Democrats want to use the moment to push for restored funding and extended healthcare subsidies, while Republicans argue over spending limits.
The House narrowly passed a stopgap funding bill on September 19, but the Senate swiftly rejected it, leaving Congress deadlocked.
What is a government shutdown?
A shutdown occurs when Congress fails to approve new funding for government agencies. Essential services like law enforcement, military operations, and airport security would continue, but thousands of federal workers face furloughs without pay. Social Security and Medicare benefits are exempt and will continue, but other federal programs could face delays or suspension.
This time, however, the White House is even preparing for mass layoffs instead of temporary furloughs, a move that would escalate the pain for federal workers and ripple across the economy.
When Trump had led US into its longest government shutdown
The US has endured 14 partial shutdowns since 1981, most short-lived. The last one, however, stretched to 35 days in 2018–2019, paralysing services and rattling the economy.
Two years into his first term, President Trump had led the country into its longest shutdown ever with demands that Congress give him money for a US-Mexico border wall. Similar to Republican leaders today, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, refused to negotiate unless Trump, a Republican, allowed the government to reopen. Democrats had won the House majority in the 2018 election and took power in the middle of the partial shutdown.
Trump had to retreat after 35 days as intensifying delays at the nation’s airports and another missed payday for hundreds of thousands of federal workers brought new urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff.
Lawmakers hold out until just before the deadline and negotiate a last-minute compromise.
(With agency inputs)