The US federal government shut down on Wednesday after Democrats opted against voting for a Republican funding plan in order to seek concessions on healthcare and other priorities.
It is the Democrats’ first major opportunity to make a stand in Congress since voters re-elected Donald Trump last year and relegated them to the minority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Yet it comes with risks – previous shutdowns have not accomplished much for whichever party instigates them, and the Trump administration has threatened to use the funding lapse to intensify its campaign of laying off federal workers.
