Plunged into a government shutdown, the US is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programmes and services running by Wednesday's deadline.
Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, some potentially fired by Trump's Republican administration.
Many offices will be shuttered, perhaps permanently, as Trump vows to "do things that are irreversible, that are bad" as retribution.
"So we'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And they're Democrats, they're going to be Democrats," Trump told reporters, adding a "lot of good can come down from shutdowns."
His deportation agenda is expected to run full speed ahead, while education, environmental and other services sputter.
Multiple US embassies announced on X that their accounts would only be updated with "urgent safety and security information", while NASA said it was "CLOSED due to a lapse in Government funding."
Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that "Trump and Republicans have now shut down the federal government because they do not want to protect the health care of the American people."
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on X after the shutdown began to ask "How long will Chuck Schumer let this pain go on — for his own selfish reasons?" "Results: Moms and kids now lose WIC nutrition. Veterans lose health care and suicide prevention programmes. FEMA has shortfalls during hurricane season. Soldiers and TSA agents go UNPAID," Johnson wrote.
The economic fallout is expected to ripple nationwide.
The president appeared unable to negotiate any deal between Democrats and Republicans to prevent the shutdown. This is the third time Trump has presided over a federal funding lapse.
Here's the latest:
Will furloughed federal workers get paid?
Yes. In 2019, Congress passed a bill enshrining into law the requirement that furloughed employees get retroactive pay once operations resume.
While they'll eventually get paid, the furloughed workers and those who remain on the job may have to go without one or more of their regular paychecks, depending upon how long the shutdown lasts, creating financial stress for many families.
Service members would also receive back pay for any missed paychecks once federal funding resumes.
What government work continues during a shutdown?
A great deal, actually.
FBI investigators, CIA officers, air traffic controllers and agents operating airport checkpoints keep working. So do members of the Armed Forces.
Those programmes that rely on mandatory spending generally continue during a shutdown. Social Security payments still go out. Seniors relying on Medicare coverage can still see their doctors and health care providers can be reimbursed.
Veteran health care also continues during a shutdown. Veterans Affairs medical centers and outpatient clinics will be open, and VA benefits will continue to be processed and delivered. Burials will continue at VA national cemeteries.
What happens in the shutdown?
Now that a lapse in funding has occurred, the law requires agencies to furlough their "non-excepted" employees. Excepted employees, which include those who work to protect life and property, stay on the job but don’t get paid until after the shutdown ends.
The White House Office of Management and Budget begins the process with instructions to agencies that a lapse in appropriations has occurred and they should initiate orderly shutdown activities. That memo went out Tuesday evening.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown, with the total daily cost of their compensation at roughly $400 million.
The federal government has shuttered 21 times since 1976, when Congress enacted the modern-day budget process.
The longest began on December 22, 2018 when Democrats and Trump found themselves at an impasse over $5.7 billion the president was demanding for a border wall during his first term.
