US government in shutdown as last-ditch bid to secure funding deal fails
Updated
A partial shutdown of the US government has begun after an eleventh-hour effort to secure a funding deal failed, in a chaotic close to Donald Trump's first year as President.
A stop-gap measure to starve off the shutdown for four weeks was approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives yesterday, but was blocked in the Senate in a dramatic late-night vote.
The White House blamed the shutdown on the Democrats, calling them "obstructionist losers, not legislators".
The failure to secure a deal means the government has technically run out of money, ensuring the closure of all but essential operations nationwide.
It is the first time a shutdown has occurred while one party, in this case the Republicans, controls both Congress and the White House.
The vote on the stopgap plan was scheduled by the Senate after hours of heated closed-door meetings and phone calls, including with the White House.
The measure was defeated 50 votes to 48, short of the 60 votes needed to pass.
Democrats largely held together to block the legislation, digging in on their insistence that the spending bill include protections for some 700,000 younger immigrants facing deportation.
Known as "Dreamers", their right to remain in the US is due to be revoked in early March.
As the clock ticked toward the midnight deadline, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer huddled in negotiations in a room just off the Senate floor.
Even before the vote, Mr Trump was pessimistic, and admitted the outcome was "not looking good".
He blamed Democrats, saying they want a shutdown "in order to help diminish the great success of the Tax Cuts, and what they are doing for our booming economy".
The shutdown, which has only happened three times in a meaningful way since 1995, will see hundreds of thousands of "non-essential" federal workers be told to stay home.
"Essential" employees, dealing with public safety and national security, will keep working.
Congress has been struggling for months to agree on long-term government funding levels but has been side-tracked by the dispute on immigration.
The Government has been operating on a third temporary funding measure since the new fiscal year began in October.
ABC/wires
Topics: money-and-monetary-policy, immigration, budget, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, united-states
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