The US government has shut down, after senators failed to agree on a last-minute funding bill.
The Republican-controlled Senate failed to pass a last-minute government spending bill yesterday, which could have averted the shutdown.
The Republicans were pushing to pass a bill to extend government funding without other initiatives attached – known as a clean CR – or continuing resolution.
But they only have 53 seats in the Senate – and need 60 votes to pass such a bill.
This meant they needed the Democrats support to pass the bill.
The shutdown, the first since the end of 2018, is likely to bring some – but not all – US government services to a temporary halt.
Earlier, President Donald Trump threatened mass ”irreversible” firings of federal workers if the shutdown went ahead.
