The US federal government has officially shut down after Donald Trump shared a behind-the-scenes image from his failed negotiations with Democrats.
The strike of midnight on Wednesday ushered in the first federal government shutdown since December of 2018, when a standoff over border wall funding during President Trump’s first term led to a historic 35-day stoppage.
Now, the Senate plans to vote on the twice-failed funding bill again on Wednesday morning, but most House Republicans are not even in Washington, leaving a timeline for a resolution an open question.
At the heart of this standoff is the Democrat party that is demanding that Republicans agree to restoring cuts to the health sector that were enacted over the summer.
The shutdown came just hours after the US President continued to joke about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House counterpart Hakeem Jeffries over the breakdown of talks.
All three, plus Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, were pictured together in the image Trump posted to Truth Social yesterday. It was reported that hats were given as gifts to the two leaders, as per Punchbowl News, but Jeffries disputed that when he spoke on CNN Tuesday night.