US Government shuts down as Trump threatens job cuts following Senate failure to pass stopgap bills.

The United States government has entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to agree on a stopgap spending bill before the midnight deadline.

CBI News understands that funding expired at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, triggering the country’s first shutdown since 2018.

The shutdown came after Democrats and Republicans in the Senate rejected rival funding proposals, leaving critical government operations without financing.

President Donald Trump, speaking at the White House on Tuesday, suggested he could exploit the shutdown to downsize government and target Democratic interests.

“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programmes that they like,” Trump said.

He added that “a lot of good” could come from government shutdowns.

While essential services such as law enforcement, the military, and air traffic control will continue, staff in those areas will go without pay during the shutdown.

Non-essential operations, including the publication of economic data and approval of small business loans, will be suspended.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers face uncertainty. In past shutdowns, they were placed on temporary leave and received back pay, but Trump has threatened mass terminations this time.

Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, criticised Trump’s remarks as “strong-arm tactics.”

“He is threatening federal workers with termination if there is a shutdown,” Painter said, adding that while some actions may be possible, many would not be authorised under US law.

The shutdown followed weeks of political brinkmanship. Democrats blocked a Republican stopgap bill that excluded healthcare funding, insisting provisions to expand Obamacare subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts be included.

Republicans, in turn, rejected a Democratic bill that proposed over $1 trillion in additional healthcare spending.

Two Democrats, John Fetterman and Catherine Cortez Masto, and independent Angus King joined Republicans in backing the GOP proposal, which failed to secure the 60 votes required. Kentucky’s libertarian senator, Rand Paul, broke ranks to vote against it.

Democratic leaders immediately pinned responsibility on Republicans.

“Republicans are plunging us into a government shutdown rather than fixing their healthcare crisis,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republicans of deliberately “hurting everyday Americans.”

The White House responded online, posting “Democrat Shutdown” above a countdown clock reading zero.

Since 1980, the US government has shut down 15 times. The longest stretch, 34 days, occurred during Trump’s first term between 2018 and 2019.