Government Shutdown: U.S. Closed for business

WASHINGTON—Exactly 1 year from the inauguration of President Donald Trump, today the United States is shutdown and closed for business!

The Senate rejected a one-month spending bill on Friday, triggering a shutdown of many government services as lawmakers scrambled to reach a deal.

Senate leaders have held the vote open for more than an hour late Friday night as senators gather on the chamber’s floor to discuss whether they could stitch together a last-minute deal. It was clear early that the bill didn’t have the 60 votes it needed to clear a procedural hurdle.

The Senate needs to garner 60 votes for a spending bill. With 50 Republicans present, the majority GOP needed to win support from 10 or more Democrats, many of whom had threatened to oppose a short-term spending plan if they could not also pass a bill shielding young undocumented immigrants from deportation. (Sen. John McCain is away from Washington, receiving treatment for cancer.)

The bill’s apparent failure in the Senate was the last step toward the first government shutdown since 2013. As funding looked set to lapse at midnight, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a scathing statement blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

“We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizen’s hostage over their reckless demands. This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators. When Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders we will reopen negotiations on immigration reform,” she said.

Much of the government’s work is expected to continue despite the shutdown, as the Trump administration aims to apply what senior administration officials called flexibility to shutdown rules that contain a variety of exceptions.

About The Author


Irving Lawrence Duckwald III is a freelance writer and blogger based in Central New Jersey. He has a penchant for fried chicken, fast cars, and fancy suits. With a knack for "setting the record straight", he can argue till the cows come home why it's Pork Roll and not Taylor Ham.