The United States has officially entered a federal government shutdown as midnight struck on October 1st in Washington (7 AM Greece time). Federal government funding is now suspended after last-minute efforts for a solution between Republicans and Democrats failed.
Trump blasts Democrats – What the shutdown means
The American president accuses Democrats of wanting to “shut everything down” and warns them of “irreversible” consequences. Without approval of a temporary budget, federal government funding will be cut off, resulting in the closure of most government services.
The US Congressional Budget Office estimates that approximately 750,000 federal employees will be placed on mandatory unpaid leave. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that more than 11,000 employees – about a quarter of its staff – will be furloughed, while air traffic controllers and other security officials will be forced to work without pay until the shutdown ends.
This marks the first shutdown since 2018. Six years ago, it took 35 days to resolve at a cost of $11 billion and left 800,000 federal employees without pay.
