The federal government shut down at midnight after the Senate failed Tuesday night to advance a continuing resolution to keep agencies operating.
The measure, called the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026, fell short of the 60 votes needed, with a final tally of 55–45. Forty-three Senate Democrats opposed the bill, joined by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. Fifty-two Republicans backed the legislation, along with Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Angus King, I-Maine.
The bill, which had passed the Republican-controlled House 217–212, would have maintained current spending levels and kept the government open through Nov. 21, while providing additional security resources for federal officials.
“Democrats shut down the government, demanding taxpayer-funded health care for illegals, extension of fraud-riddled, COVID-era Obamacare subsidies, and turning back the clock on President Trump’s victories for the American people,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told The Daily Signal. “Their demands are completely unreasonable, rejected by Americans at the ballot box, and they will not win.”
With the shutdown underway, nonessential federal workers have been furloughed, federal buildings such as the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are closed, and thousands of employees have stopped receiving pay. Workers will receive back pay once the shutdown ends, a cost estimated at roughly $400 million per day.
