US government shutdown likely as political impasse continues

The US faces its first government shutdown in seven years as talks between Trump and Democrats fail, with disputes over Medicaid cuts and funding deadlines leaving federal services at risk.

Washington: The United States is heading towards a government shutdown as a meeting between President Donald Trump and Democratic leadership failed to achieve any breakthrough.

If no deal is reached between Republicans and Democrats by Tuesday midnight, funding for the US government will be cut, bringing several federal services to a halt.

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After meeting Trump at the White House, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries “laid out to the president some of the consequences of what’s happening in health care, and by his face, he looked like he heard about them for the first time.”

Schumer added that they “have very large differences on health care.” Democrats are demanding a reversal of Medicaid cuts in the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed earlier this year.

Vice-President JD Vance, speaking to the media at the White House, indicated that a shutdown was imminent.

“I think we’re headed into a shutdown because Democrats won’t do the right thing. I hope they change their mind, but we’re going to see,” Vance said.

Republicans assert they will not agree to Democrats’ demands and have proposed extending funding until November 21.

While Republicans control both the Senate and the House of Representatives, they are seven votes short in the Senate, as the funding bill requires 60 votes to pass.

It would be the first US government shutdown in seven years. The last one occurred under Trump 1.0 in 2018 and lasted 35 days — the longest in history.

The Trump administration has threatened to fire more federal workers during the shutdown period.

Essential services such as border protection, law enforcement, and air-traffic control would continue to function, while food assistance programmes, government-funded pre-schools, food inspections, and national parks operations could be adversely affected.

If the shutdown extends over a long period, air travel could face disruptions as many of those workers would be forced to work without pay and may not report for duty.