Federal government officially shuts down after Democrats block extension of current spending levels

The federal government officially entered into a shutdown just after midnight, Tuesday night, placing thousands of federal employees on furlough while Congress works to restore government funding.

The Senate adjourned on Tuesday night after it failed to pass a continuing resolution that would have kept the government funded through Nov. 21. The next votes on the resolution are scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The White House has already ordered departments to execute their plans for an orderly government shutdown. It is not clear how long the government shutdown will last, but the longest on record occurred during President Donald Trump's first term, when the government closed for 35 days between 2018 and 2019. 

The Trump administration is expected to lay off some federal employees during the shutdown, though an exact number was not readily available. The firings come after Trump has already implemented mass firings and myriad buyouts to reduce the size of the federal government.

Just hours before midnight, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital, "The Trump administration wants a straightforward and clean CR [continuing resolution] to continue funding the government – the exact same proposal that Democrats supported just 6 months ago, 13 times under the Biden Administration." 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.