A partial government shutdown went into effect at 12:01am Saturday morning after Congress failed to pass a stopgap bill in time, though it did clear the House of Representatives earlier in the day.
This doesn’t mean the process is over, however. The Senate is still quibbling over proposed amendments to the continuing resolution in order to send it to President Joe Biden‘s desk. The bill is expected to be passed in the Senate within the next few hours.
The partial shutdown comes just days before Christmas and New Year’s, and if an agreement somehow isn’t reached, hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be furloughed indefinitely
During a partial shutdown, federal agencies and non-essential services are stopped immediately.
National security functions like border patrol, law enforcement and disaster response teams will remain active during the shutdown.
If the Senate is able to get the bill to Biden tonight, who has already said he supports it, the impact will hardly be felt at all.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was able to get the stopgap bill passed through his chamber 366 to 34. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer presided over a Senate that failed to pass the bill before 12:00am on Saturday
