At the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, the United States officially entered a federal shutdown after Congress failed to approve a partial budget extension. This move has led to the suspension of operations in numerous federal departments and agencies, forcing their employees into mandatory unpaid leave.

This government shutdown—the first in nearly seven years, since the country experienced its longest shutdown ever (lasting 35 days)—took effect after Republicans failed to extend government funding beyond Tuesday, which marked the end of the U.S. fiscal year.

Late Tuesday night, the U.S. Senate rejected a resolution proposed by the Republican majority to temporarily raise the federal funding ceiling, preventing the shutdown from being averted at midnight.

Allies of President Donald Trump were unable to secure the necessary support from Democrats to reach the required threshold of 60 votes out of 100 members, halting the extension of government funding after the fiscal year ended Tuesday evening—a situation the U.S. hasn't faced in six years.