【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】
Since midnight local time on October 1, the U.S. government has once again shut down for the first time in seven years.
On the same day, the U.S. Senate once again rejected a temporary funding bill. According to NBC, senators will be on holiday to celebrate Yom Kippur and are expected to vote again on the 3rd. This means that the government "shutdown" may last at least three days.
The report said that on the afternoon of October 1, the Senate voted for the third time to reject a temporary funding bill proposed by Republicans.
In the vote, there were a total of 55 votes in favor, which did not reach the required 60 votes to pass. Only three Democrats supported the Republican proposal to extend federal government funding until November 21, which dashed hopes for a quick end to the federal government "shutdown."
Because Yom Kippur holiday begins on the evening of October 1, senators will vote again on the afternoon of the 3rd.
This government "shutdown" will affect multiple federal public services, as shown in a screenshot from Bloomberg video.
NBC said this government "shutdown" is the 15th since 1981.
According to reports, apart from government employees providing "essential services," it is estimated that about 750,000 federal employees will be "furloughed." At the same time, some public services such as national parks and court proceedings may be suspended or delayed, and the release of economic data will also be affected.
In addition, a spokesperson for the office of the governor of New York State said that the torch of the Statue of Liberty might "go out completely."
Both parties blamed each other for the deadlock. The White House and Republicans accused Democratic lawmakers of wanting to provide free medical care for illegal immigrants in the United States, but Democrats denied it and condemned Republicans for refusing to communicate and negotiate.
That day, Vice President Vance attributed the government "shutdown" event to the "extreme left" Democrats in the Senate. Information blaming Democrats or the "radical left" for the government "shutdown" appeared on the homepages of multiple federal agencies including the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of State, and the Department of Treasury.
It is worth noting that on the first day of the government "shutdown," the White House began retaliating against Democrats, announcing the suspension or cancellation of billions of dollars in funds originally planned for blue states, and freezing about $1.8 billion in infrastructure projects in New York City.
Information blaming "extreme left Democrats" appears on the homepage of multiple federal agencies including the Department of Agriculture.
On the same day, Vance warned reporters that if the government continued to shut down, the federal government would lay off workers, and 300,000 people would be forced to lose their jobs by December of this year. However, when asked whether the layoffs targeted Democratic employees, he insisted that the move was "not politically motivated."
Previously, on September 30, President Trump also threatened to "permanently lay off" workers during an interview.
According to two sources, on the afternoon of October 1, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget at the White House, Lasowert, told House Republicans in a private phone call that layoffs or furloughs would begin within two days.
According to the introduction, budget impasses have become relatively common in Washington over the past 15 years, often being resolved at the last minute. However, this year, due to the significant differences between the two parties and the lack of willingness to compromise, the risk of a government shutdown is much higher than in previous years.
Since the 1970s, the U.S. federal government has experienced more than 20 shutdowns due to policy differences between the two parties, most of which lasted only a few days. The most recent and longest shutdown occurred during President Trump's first term.
In December 2018, Democrats opposed funding for the border wall project proposed by then-President Trump, leading to prolonged disputes over immigration issues. Approximately one-quarter of federal government agencies were shut down for five weeks from late 2018 to early 2019. It is estimated that the shutdown affected more than 800,000 government employees and caused economic losses exceeding $1 billion.
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