The U.S. government has officially begun a partial shutdown after the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on a government spending Bill before the deadline of 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 22.
The Senate adjourned without passing the government funding package, which would have prevented funding from running out for almost a quarter of government entities at midnight that same day. The package also includes nearly $8 billion in disaster relief funding for areas affected by the year’s devastating coastal hurricanes and wildfires in California, and $5 billion to construct a wall between the U.S. and Mexico border.
