The government has officially shut down after lawmakers on Tuesday evening adjourned early with no agreement on government funding.
Lawmakers will return on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.
Ahead of its adjournment, the Senate’s 55–45 vote in favor of advancing the package fell five short of the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
A group representing major U.S. airlines warned that the looming Oct. 1 government shutdown could cause flights to be delayed because air traffic controllers and other federal employees may be forced to work without pay.
The federal government will partially shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday unless Congress can reach a funding deal.
Airlines for America said that furloughing tens of thousands of workers would mean longer wait times and other issues at airports. The group represents major carriers including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, UPS Airlines, FedEx Express, Atlas Air, and Hawaiian Airlines.
Lawmakers have no clear path to avoiding a government shutdown that will occur at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1 without congressional action.
Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over a proposed stopgap spending bill after a Sept. 29 meeting between Congressional leaders and President Donald Trump proved fruitless.
Republicans want to pass what they call a clean continuing resolution (CR), which extends current spending for another seven weeks with no substantial changes. That time is needed, they say, to complete the regular appropriations process, which involves passing 12 appropriations bills in each chamber.
Congressional leaders failed to reach an agreement on a stopgap spending resolution that would avert a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) met with President Donald Trump on the afternoon of Sept. 29 but remained deadlocked as Democrats continued to demand significant additional spending on health care in exchange for their votes.
“We have very large differences on health care,” Schumer told reporters as he emerged from the White House conference. “[Trump] can avoid a shutdown, but there are still large differences between us.”
Health care has become a sticking point in congressional negotiations over a stopgap spending bill to avoid a shutdown of the federal government on Oct. 1.