US Government Shutdown: 750,000 Federal Employees Facing Furlough as Funding Negotiations Collapse

Around 750,000 federal employees are expected to be placed on furlough

Efforts to swiftly end the US government shutdown collapsed Wednesday as Democrats in Congress departed without resolving a funding dispute with President Donald Trump and the White House threatened public sector employment.

Federal funding expired at midnight after Trump and lawmakers failed to reach an agreement to maintain government operations, causing agencies to reduce services, while the White House warned of "imminent" terminations of public sector workers.

Senate Democrats - who are seeking extended health care subsidies for low-income families - declined to assist the majority Republicans in approving a House-passed measure that would have reopened the government for several weeks while discussions continue.

Voting in the Senate is now postponed until Friday, hampering hopes for a rapid resolution.

Approximately 750,000 federal employees are anticipated to be placed on furlough - a form of mandated leave, with compensation withheld until they return to work.

Essential personnel, such as military members and border agents, may be required to work without compensation and some will likely miss their paychecks beginning next week. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association expressed concerns for air safety as more than 2,300 members were sent home.

The crisis carries greater implications than previous shutdowns, with Trump rushing to implement hard-right policies including reducing government departments and threatening to convert many of the furloughs into mass terminations.

Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt informed reporters the administration was "working with agencies across the board to identify where cuts can be made... and we believe that layoffs are imminent."

The Department of Energy announced plans to terminate clean energy projects, all in blue states according to White House official Russell Vought, who indicated the reduced funding had been used to advance "the Left's climate agenda".

The Department of Transportation also suspended nearly $18 billion in federal funding for major infrastructure projects in New York, which Governor Kathy Hochul described as "political payback".

'Ridiculous'

Shutdowns are a periodic characteristic of gridlocked Washington, although this is the first since a record 35-day interruption during Trump's first term in 2019.

They are unpopular because services utilized by ordinary citizens, from national parks to permit applications, become unavailable.

"I think our government needs to learn how to work together for the people and find a way to make things not happen like this," said Terese Johnston, a 61-year-old retired tour guide visiting Washington from California as the government shut down.

"You compromise. You find ways. So everybody gives a little bit, everybody takes a little bit, and things work."

Democrats - motivated by grassroots anger over the expiring health care subsidies and Trump's dismantling of government agencies - have been withholding Senate votes to fund the government as leverage to attempt to force negotiations.

As the messaging battle over the shutdown intensified, Vice President JD Vance took center stage at a White House briefing normally led by Leavitt to criticize Democrats regarding their demands.

"They said to us, 'we will open the government, but only if you give billions of dollars of funding for health care for illegal aliens.' That's a ridiculous proposition," Vance said in an uncommon appearance in the briefing room.

US law requires that anyone who presents at a publicly funded emergency room receives treatment, regardless of their ability to pay. However, it prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving the health care benefits Democrats are demanding, and the party has not called for new congressional legislation to change that.

No compromise

Republicans in the House of Representatives have already passed a temporary funding solution to maintain federal functions through late November while a longer-term plan is developed.

However, the 100-member Senate lacks the 60 votes required to send it to Trump's desk, and Democrats indicate they won't assist unless Republicans compromise on their planned spending reductions - particularly in health care.

Senate Republican leaders, who have just one dissenter in their own ranks, need eight Democrats to join the majority and approve the House-passed bill.

They persuaded three moderates to cross the aisle in an initial vote Tuesday and were hoping to attract five more as the shutdown chaos begins to impact. But Wednesday's result remained unchanged.

Congress is not voting Thursday out of respect for the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday but the Senate returns to work on Friday and may be in session through the weekend.

The House is not scheduled to return until next week.