A deep impasse between US president Donald Trump and congressional Democrats has triggered the 15th US government shutdown since 1981.
Why has the government shut down?
Congress is supposed to allocate funding to 438 government agencies before October 1st, the start of the fiscal year. But lawmakers rarely meet this deadline and often pass temporary spending bills to keep the government operating while they finish their work. If they let that funding lapse, government agencies must stop all work not deemed "essential."
Congress's fiscal power has been eroded during Mr Trump's presidency, after he refused to spend billions of dollars authorised by Congress, among many other things.
Although Republicans control the House of Representatives and the Senate, they need at least seven Democratic votes in the 100-seat Senate to pass spending legislation.
This time, Democrats are insisting that any spending bill must also ensure that expanded Affordable Care Act health subsidies do not expire at the end of the year. Republicans say they are open to extending those subsidies, but say the issue should be handled separately.
As the October 1st deadline was not met, and spending legislation was not passed, this has triggered a partial government shutdown.
What would it take to end the shutdown?
Republicans and Democrats must come to an agreement, but they want different things.
What do Republicans want?
Mr Trump's Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and they have already scored big budget wins this year. The massive legislation called the "One Big Beautiful Bill," passed in July, boosted spending for defense and immigration enforcement, rolled back spending on green energy and other Democratic priorities, while making major cuts in the Medicaid healthcare program for low-income and disabled people to help pay for tax cuts focused mainly on the wealthy.
Republicans also have broadly supported the White House's efforts to claw back money that had already been approved by Congress for foreign aid and public broadcasting, even though that undermines lawmakers' constitutional authority over spending matters.
They have said they would vote for a continuing resolution that would extend funding at current levels through November 21st to allow more time to negotiate a full-year deal.
What do Democrats want?
Democrats are using their leverage of the seven Senate votes needed to pass legislation, to push for renewing expanded healthcare subsidies for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Their proposal would make permanent enhanced tax breaks that are otherwise due to expire at the end of the year and make them available to more middle-income households.
Democrats also want language inserted into any funding bill that would prohibit Mr Trump from unilaterally ignoring their ACA provisions or temporarily withholding funds.
They also want to roll back other restrictions on ACA coverage that were enacted in the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
What is the impact of a shutdown?
There have been 14 shutdowns since 1981, many lasting only a day or two. The most recent one during Mr Trump's first term was also the longest, lasting 35 days, due to a dispute between the president and Congress over border security.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed without pay, with many services disrupted - from financial oversight to trash pickup at national parks.
Workers deemed essential remain on the job - albeit unpaid. In the past, federal workers have been paid for their time off retroactively.
Shutdowns that last only a few days have little practical impact, particularly if they occur over a weekend, but the broader economy could suffer if federal employees begin missing paychecks after two weeks.
The 2018-2019 shutdown cost the economy about $3 billion, equal to 0.02% of GDP, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
This time, a prolonged shutdown will create more turmoil as Mr Trump's trade wars and battles with the Federal Reserve have already injected uncertainty into the global economy.
- Reuters
