US government shuts down

The United States government slipped into a partial shutdown early Saturday after Congress failed to approve a 2026 budget before the midnight deadline.

The disruption is expected to be limited, however, with the House of Representatives set to reconvene early next week to ratify a Senate-backed funding deal already endorsed by President Donald Trump.

The funding lapse followed a breakdown in negotiations triggered by Democratic anger over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents. The incident derailed talks over fresh funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“Instead of going after drug smugglers, child predators and human traffickers, the Trump Administration is wasting valuable resources targeting peaceful protestors in Chicago and Minneapolis,” Senate Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin said in a social media post.

“This administration continues to make Americans less safe.”

With the deadline missed, roughly three-quarters of federal government operations were affected, raising the prospect of shutdown procedures across key sectors including education, health, housing and defence.

Federal agencies were expected to begin implementing shutdown plans overnight. Still, leaders from both parties insisted the Senate’s late action made a brief disruption more likely than a prolonged standoff.

If the House passes the deal as expected when lawmakers return on Monday, government funding would be restored within days, limiting the impact on public services, contractors and federal workers.

But if the shutdown drags on, tens of thousands of federal employees could be forced onto unpaid leave or required to work without pay until funding is restored.

Late Friday, the Senate approved a package clearing five outstanding funding bills to keep most federal agencies running through September. It also passed a two-week stopgap measure to keep DHS operational while negotiations over immigration enforcement continue.

The House was out of session when the deadline expired and is not due back until Monday.

President Trump threw his weight behind the Senate agreement and urged swift House approval, signalling his desire to avoid a prolonged shutdown — the second of his second term — after last year’s record-long stoppage disrupted federal services for over a month