The continuing government shutdown has been prolonged into next week after US senators failed to approve budget plans to reopen the government for the fourth time. One expenditure plan from the Republicans and one from the Democrats did not receive the necessary 60 votes.
The White House stated Friday that if the shutdown continues, it will be faced with the “unenviable task” of mass layoffs to keep key government services running, which Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to as “fiscal sanity” despite the impasse between the two sides.
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Although it’s still unclear how many people would be laid off, the White House has been in talks with the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB. In the primary area of contention, healthcare, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have retreated. In an attempt to undo the Trump administration’s cuts to the Medicaid health program and ensure that health insurance subsidies for low-income individuals do not expire, Democrats have sought to capitalise on the standoff.
Democrats have refuted the accusation made by Republicans, who have regularly accused Democrats of shutting down the government in an attempt to provide healthcare to unauthorized immigrants. For a Republican-led government funding plan, 54 senators voted in favor, 44 opposed, and two abstained.
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