The US entered a period of fiscal paralysis (shutdown) today, resulting in a portion of the federal government’s funding being cut off, while Congress is far from finding a compromise solution between Republicans and Democrats to approve a temporary budget.
Many hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be placed on forced leave, while serious problems will be created in the operation of public services and programs.
This is the first shutdown since 2018, which occurred during Donald Trump’s previous term and lasted 35 days.
Democrats and Republicans have already begun accusing each other: “The Democrats want to shut everything down, we don’t want it,” the US president assured yesterday, Tuesday evening, before adopting a more threatening tone.
“Many good things can come from the ‘shutdown’, we can get rid of many things we don’t want and they would be Democratic things,” Trump emphasized.
This is an indirect reference to the Republican’s intention to exploit the suspension of some federal services’ operations to proceed with the dismissal of thousands of employees, as he seeks to radically restructure the federal government with the departure of approximately 300,000 workers by December.
Coordinated suspension
The shutdown began a few hours after a temporary budget, which would have continued funding the federal state until November 21, failed to be approved by the Senate.
The Democrats were opposed to the temporary budget plan presented by the Republicans because it did not include the extension of health coverage for millions of Americans, primarily through the Obamacare program, which is set to expire at the end of the year. The Republicans, for their part, insist that the issue should be discussed separately.
Although the Republicans have the majority in the Senate with 53 seats, the rules of the Chamber stipulate that any budget text must be approved with 60 votes out of 100, and consequently the Republicans needed at least 7 votes from the Democrats.
Meanwhile, the OMB instructed federal agencies to implement their plans for a coordinated suspension of operations.
The White House Office of Management and Budget estimates that approximately 750,000 federal employees will be placed on forced leave, while problems may arise with flights, as well as with the payment of social benefits.
Furthermore, independent analysts warn that this shutdown could last longer than previous ones, as Trump threatens to punish the Democrats with cuts to government programs and with the dismissal of federal employees.
Source: APE-MPE
