US govt shuts down as Congress misses deadline

Washington D.C. [U.S.A.], Jan 20 (ANI): The United States government has shut down as the Congress failed to overcome the standoff over spending and immigration.

According to The Hill, the Congress missed a midnight deadline to prevent the shutdown, though efforts to quickly end it appear to be underway.

On Friday, senators voted to reject a House-passed bill that would have funded the government until February 16.

The bill needed 60 votes to pass and it was well short of that number with 48 senators voting against it.

Only five Democrats voted in favour of the bill, while Republicans were also not united as Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Mike Lee (Utah) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) also voted against it.

In 2013, a shutdown was carried on for 16 days as a band of Republicans tried to dismantle ObamaCare. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI