Washington: The U.S. government officially entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to approve a budget agreement by the midnight deadline to support operations in several sectors. This development marks the beginning of a new phase of negotiations as lawmakers work to resolve the impasse.
According to Thai News Agency, the Senate managed to pass the budget bill with a bipartisan vote of 71 to 29 after prolonged discussions. However, the absence of House members and the lack of a scheduled hearing on the measure until Monday led to the partial shutdown, which took effect at 00:01 Eastern Time on Saturday (12:01 PM Saturday in Thailand).
The current shutdown is anticipated to be brief, with lawmakers striving to prevent immigration enforcement measure debates from affecting other government functions. This situation stands in contrast to the previous shutdown in October and November of last year, which lasted a record-breaking 43 days due to a policy conflict over public health between Republicans and Democrats, causing approximately $11 billion (378 billion baht) in economic damage.