Unless Congress passes a budget — something that has happened four times in the past ten years — everything from air travel to national parks and food programs will be halted.
– The question is how much patience the state employees have and how long they are prepared to do this before they take sick leave due to dissatisfaction with those who decide in Washington, says Andreas Utterström, USA expert.
Usually you find a temporary solution to get the system rolling, but now a group of disgruntled Republicans have voted down a temporary budget to push through their proposals to cut immigration and cut spending. They also want to prevent another aid package to Ukraine.
– This is a symptom of a political civil war within the Republicans. The leader of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy is very weak. He had to sell his soul in bulk to get elected, says Utterström.
– The Trump wing of the party is driving this and they are not there to make laws. They are there to blow up the system and show discontent. In this case against the state spending too much money.
Risking the career
Ideally, Republicans want to cut budget spending by more than 30 percent – and the 21 Republicans who have offered the most resistance do not want to accept anything other than a long-term budget to their liking.
The Speaker of the House, Republican Kevin McCarthy, may be forced to find a solution with Democrats, but that would also risk his career.
On Saturday, the clock ticks towards midnight when the budget funding runs out.
Food stamps and support programs
In addition to the roughly four million who work within the US government, where the majority may go without pay, a shutdown will also affect support programs for those in need.
First up is the food program for poor mothers and newborns, which includes roughly seven million women and children. In a second step, the funding for food coupons for the poor, so-called food stamps, which help roughly 40 million Americans get food on the table, disappears, reports BBC.
The question remains whether a solution can be reached before midnight on Saturday. If not, the other question is how long such a stop would last. Under Donald Trump, the funding gap lasted a record 35 days.
At one o’clock local time on Saturday, at 19 in Sweden, a final vote was held on a transitional budget, writes CNBC.
After all the members cast their votes, a transitional budget could be voted through, reports CNN. It is valid for 45 days and must ensure that the shutdown is avoided. The proposal has now been sent to the Senate, where the Democrats have a majority.