What happens when the US federal government shuts down?
The US federal government has shut down. What happens now?
- President Donald Trump's office has ordered federal agencies to shut down after Republican and Democrat senators failed to agree on a last-minute funding bill on Tuesday.
- The shutdown follows Trump's earlier threat to "irreversibly" fire "vast numbers of people" if the funding bill was not passed.
- The last government shutdown occurred in 2019 under the first Trump administration, lasting 35 days and costing the country's economy an estimated $6bn.
- The Independent investigates the potential impact of this shutdown on federal government employees and various public services.
- Watch the video in full above.