Overview

• Congress failed to pass a funding measure, triggering an official federal shutdown reported late Wednesday.
• Republicans urge a roughly seven-week continuing resolution, and Vice President JD Vance says Democrats conditioned reopening on billions for health care for undocumented immigrants.
• Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer accuse President Donald Trump and Republicans of causing the shutdown to avoid protecting Americans’ health care.
• Immediate effects include closures of national landmarks such as the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
• The White House deployed partisan communications, including a recorded comment-line message and a replayed deepfake mocking Jeffries, as Vance warned layoffs could follow if the shutdown persists and ADP reported 32,000 private-sector job cuts last month.