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US gov't shuts down after Senate vote fails

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (KUNA) -- The US government officially shutdown early Saturday after Senate lawmakers failed to pass a stopgap measure to keep federal operations running through February 16.
During the late-night session on Capitol Hill, a Republican-proposed spending bill to keep the government operating temporarily was rejected by Democrats and five Republicans in the Senate, with majority leader Mitch McConnell able to muster only 50 of 60 needed votes. High-pressure negotiations continued past the bill's midnight deadline, triggering a short technical shutdown on the first anniversary since President Donald Trump took office.
The vote was rejected after Senate Democrats demanded that the measure include protections for nearly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Republicans refused and neither side has been willing to back down.
The closure marks the first time the government has been shut down since 2013 and is only the fourth government closure in a quarter century. Unless lawmakers are able to pass a spending bill over the weekend, federal agencies across the country will be unable to fund operations and force roughly half of the federal employee workforce, including uniformed service members, health inspectors and law enforcement officers, to be sent home without pay.
In a statement released late Friday, the White House placed the blame of the shutdown on Democrats, calling them "obstructionist losers" and accusing the party of putting "politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country's ability to serve all Americans." A response posed on the social media site Twitter, the House Democratic Caucus called the outcome "an absolute testament to the chaos and lack of leadership emanating from the White House and the congressional Republicans who enable". (end) hy.hb