WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate failed to pass a short-term spending bill on Tuesday night, setting the federal government on track for a shutdown starting at midnight, which would mark the first federal government shutdown in nearly seven years.
Senate Democrats blocked a continuing resolution proposed by Republicans to temporarily keep the government running. The measure didn't gain enough support, falling short of the 60 votes required for passage.
In the latest negotiations, healthcare benefits have been one of the core sticking points between the two parties. Democrats are demanding stronger healthcare-related benefits, including an extension of the enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act set to expire at the end of the year, as well as restoring the act's coverage eligibility for certain immigrants who are legally present, including refugees and asylum seekers.
Republicans, on the other hand, opposed these measures and have been pushing to temporarily maintain current government funding levels to allow more time for negotiations.
Earlier in the day, Republicans and Democrats continued to trade blame, accusing each other of forcing the government into a "shutdown."
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon that Democrats want to shut down the government, claiming that their insistence on providing free healthcare to undocumented immigrants has caused the negotiations to stall.
"The Democrats want to shut it down. So when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs. So we'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And they're going to be Democrats," Trump said.
"This is Donald Trump's shutdown. He owns it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X, retweeting the video of Trump's remarks. Schumer also said that Republicans are lying about Democrats' stance.
"Not a single federal dollar goes to providing health insurance for undocumented immigrants. NOT. ONE. PENNY," Schumer said in another post on X. "Republicans would rather lie and shut down the government than protect your health care."
The operating funds for the U.S. federal government are supposed to come from annual budget appropriations. Congress from both parties is normally expected to pass new annual appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. However, in recent years, intense partisan battles have often prevented timely agreement.
Over the past year, the federal government has faced multiple "shutdown" crises, with Congress passing short-term spending bills just hours before funds ran out in December 2024 and March 2025.
The most recent and longest federal government shutdown occurred from late 2018 to early 2019, during Trump's first term. Democrats opposed Trump's proposed funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, and the two parties' disputes over immigration led to a 35-day shutdown, during which some 800,000 federal employees were forced to work without pay or take unpaid leave.
"Shutdowns don't save money, they waste money," Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement.
"Under shutdowns, we pay federal workers not to work and rent buildings that aren't being used, all while requiring costly shutdown planning, inefficient allocation of government resources, and a reduction in the services available to the American people. We should avoid a shutdown and keep the government funded," she said. ■