WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The US government entered a partial shutdown Saturday as a midnight funding deadline passed without Congress approving a 2026 budget, though disruption was expected to be limited with the House set to move early next week to ratify a Senate-backed deal. The funding lapse followed a breakdown in negotiations driven by Democratic anger over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). &quot;Instead of going after drug smugglers, child predators, and human traffickers, the Trump Administration is wasting valuable resources targeting peaceful protestors in Chicago and <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/thousands-rally-in-minneapolis-as-immigration-anger-boils" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Minneapolis</a>,&quot; Senate Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin posted on social media. &quot;This Administration continues to make Americans less safe.&quot; Federal operations affectedRoughly three-quarters of federal operations are affected, potentially triggering shutdown procedures across a wide range of agencies and operations, from education and health to housing and defense. Federal departments were expected to begin implementing shutdown plans overnight, but congressional leaders in both parties said the Senate&#39;s action made a short disruption far more likely than a prolonged impasse. If the House approves the package as expected early next week, funding would be restored within days, limiting the practical impact of the shutdown on government services, contractors, and federal workers. If the shutdown extended more than a few days, however, tens of thousands of federal workers would risk being put on unpaid leave or working without their money until funding is restored. Funding bills&nbsp;Late Friday, the Senate passed a package clearing five outstanding funding bills to cover most federal agencies through September, along with a two-week stopgap measure to keep DHS operating while lawmakers continue negotiations over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-battles-minneapolis-shooting-fallout-as-agents-put-on-leave" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">immigration enforcement policy</a>. The House of Representatives was out of session as the deadline expired and is not scheduled to return until Monday. President Donald Trump backed the Senate deal and urged swift House action, signaling he wanted to avoid a prolonged shutdown -- the second of his second term -- after a record-length stoppage last fall disrupted federal services for more than a month. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Political backlash&nbsp;</h2>The Senate breakthrough came only after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina lifted a procedural block that had stalled the package late Thursday. Graham had objected to provisions in the DHS stopgap and to House-passed language repealing an earlier measure that allowed senators to sue the Justice Department if their phone records were seized during past investigations. Graham agreed to release his hold after Senate leaders committed to holding future votes on legislation he is sponsoring to crack down on so-called &quot;sanctuary cities&quot; that refuse to cooperate with federal deportation operations. Democrats, meanwhile, have remained united in opposing new DHS funding without changes to immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. Money for immigration agenciesTheir deaths intensified scrutiny of federal agents&#39; conduct and hardened opposition to approving money for immigration agencies without new guardrails. Party leaders have accused immigration authorities of operating with insufficient oversight and have demanded reforms, including tighter warrant requirements, limits on certain enforcement tactics, and greater accountability for agents in the field. Much of the US media interpreted the White House&#39;s willingness to split DHS funding from the broader budget package as a recognition that the administration needed to recalibrate its deportation strategy after the political backlash over the Minneapolis deaths. Republicans are divided over that approach. While some lawmakers have acknowledged the need for changes following the shootings, conservatives have warned against concessions they say could weaken immigration enforcement. Several have signaled they will push their own priorities during the upcoming DHS negotiations, including measures targeting states and cities that limit cooperation with federal authorities. &lsquo;Orderly shutdown&rsquo;Although Congress has already approved six of the 12 annual funding bills, those measures account for only a minority of discretionary spending. The remaining bills fund large swaths of the federal government, making the lapse significant if it ends up being prolonged. The Office of Management and Budget on Friday night issued a memo ordering agencies to prepare for an &ldquo;orderly shutdown,&rdquo; saying:&nbsp;&ldquo;It is our hope that this lapse will be short.&rdquo;

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Roughly three-quarters of federal operations are affected, potentially triggering shutdown procedures across a wide range of agencies and operations, from education and health to housing and defense.

US government shuts down, but quick resolution expected

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The bitter tribalism that drove the United States into a government shutdown is putting compromise out of reach, analysts say -- and threatening to turn a staring contest between the Democrats and Donald Trump&#39;s Republicans into a protracted crisis. As the nation enters its second week with federal agencies paralyzed, multiple strategists with vivid memories of previous standoffs told AFP the president and his foes could be in it for the long haul. &lsquo;For weeks&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s possible this shutdown drags on for weeks, not just days,&quot; said Andrew Koneschusky, a former press secretary for Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader at the center of the latest deadlock. &quot;Right now, both sides are dug in and there&#39;s very little talk of compromise.&quot; At the heart of the showdown is a Democratic demand for an extension of health care subsidies that are set to expire, meaning sharply increased costs for millions of low-income Americans. On Sunday, Trump blamed minority Democrats for blocking his funding resolution, which needs a handful of their votes.&nbsp; &lsquo;Ready to go back&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;They&#39;re causing it. We&#39;re ready to go back,&quot; Trump told reporters at the White House, sounding resigned to a shutdown dragging on. Trump also told reporters Sunday his administration has already started to permanently fire -- not merely furlough -- federal workers, again blaming his rivals for &quot;causing the loss of a lot of jobs.&quot; In March, when the threat of a shutdown last loomed, Democrats blinked first, voting for a six-month Republican resolution to keep the coffers stacked despite policy misgivings. But Schumer -- the top Senate Democrat -- was lambasted by the party&#39;s base, and will be reluctant to cave this time around as he faces potential primary challenges from the left. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Maximum pain&#39;&nbsp;</h2>For now, Senate Republicans are banking on their Democratic opponents giving in as they repeatedly force votes. &quot;I could see a temporary agreement coming from both parties by the&nbsp;end of October,&quot; said Jeff Le, a former senior official in California state politics who negotiated with the first Trump administration. &quot;Anything beyond two months would halt government operations seriously and potentially impact national and homeland security considerations,&nbsp;casting blame on both parties.&quot; A shift in strategy would likely depend on either side noticing that public sentiment is turning against them, analysts told AFP. Polling so far has been mixed, although Republicans have been taking more flak than Democrats overall. Trump presided over the longest shutdown in US history in 2018 and 2019, when federal agencies were shut down for 35 days. This time around, the president has been ratcheting up pressure by threatening liberal policy priorities and mass layoffs of public sector workers. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">The Trump factor&nbsp;</h2>James Druckman, a political science professor at the University of Rochester, views Trump&#39;s intransigence as a reason to believe this standoff could rival the 2019 record. &quot;The Trump administration views itself as having an unchecked mandate and thus generally does not compromise,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;Democrats have been critiqued for not standing strongly enough, and the last compromise did not result in any positive outcome for Democrats. Thus, politically, they are inclined to stand firm.&quot; The 2018‑2019 shutdown cost the economy $11 billion in the short term, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office -- and $3 billion was never recovered. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the latest shutdown could wreak havoc on GDP growth. 12 days at mostFor California-based financial analyst Michael Ashley Schulman, the economic realities of the shutdown may ultimately force a compromise. &quot;If Wall Street gets spooked and Treasury yields spike, even the most ideologically caffeinated will suddenly discover a deep commitment to bipartisan solutions,&quot; he said. Not all analysts are gloomy about the prospects for a quick resolution. Aaron Cutler, head of the congressional oversight and investigations practice at global law firm Hogan Lovells and a former staffer in the House, predicts the shutdown will last 12 days at most. &quot;Senate Democrats will blink first... While the shutdown continues, there will be no congressional hearings and a lot of work at the agencies will be paused,&quot; he said. &quot;That&#39;s a win for many Democrats in Congress, but they don&#39;t want the blame for it.&quot;

Analysts warn the US government shutdown could last weeks, as deep partisan divisions stall compromise. Trump blames Democrats, while both parties brace for political fallout, economic damage, and public pressure to resolve the crisis.

Articles tagged with "US Govt Shutdown"

US government shuts down, but quick resolution expected

US government shutdown may last weeks, analysts warn