The U.S. government shut down Wednesday for the first time since 2019 after Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to agree on a short-term funding measure. The lapse followed the Senate’s rejection of two competing bills — a Democratic measure to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts, and a Republican stopgap that would have kept the government open for seven weeks without those provisions.

The shutdown affects millions of federal employees, with many furloughed and others working without pay. Essential staff such as air traffic controllers, Transportation Security Administration officers and U.S. military personnel continue reporting to