Federal agencies will start to cease operations as the sun comes up Wednesday, after the two parties couldn’t reach agreement on a stopgap funding bill and the Senate gaveled out of session hours before the midnight deadline.
With no alternative in sight and no serious negotiations between the parties pending, appropriations needed to maintain numerous government programs have now expired. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be forced off the job Wednesday after winding down their activities, and more than that may have to work without pay until the shutdown ends.
Democrats mostly stuck together Tuesday evening to vote down Republicans’ seven-week stopgap bill, 55-45, which needed 60 votes to advance.
