Washington — The federal government shut down at midnight Wednesday after Congress failed to pass appropriations, halting pay for hundreds of thousands of civilian employees and suspending a range of nonessential services across agencies. The impasse came after House Republicans and Senate Democrats could not bridge a divide over spending priorities and a GOP proposal that Democrats say would produce steep increases in health-insurance premiums for many federal workers.

At 04:00 GMT, agency leaders began implementing contingency plans required under the Antideficiency Act: employees classified as nonessential were placed on furlough, while those in roles deemed essential for national security, law enforcement and public safety continued to work without current pay. Officials warned that contractors, grant recipients and some public-facing functions — including national park maintenance, certain permitting and passport processing — would be disrupted immediately.

President Trump intensified the confrontation on Tuesday and again on social media and in remarks to reporters, saying he would consider "mass layoffs" of federal workers and contractors if funding was not approved. The remarks prompted immediate criticism from federal-employee unions and legal scholars, who said wholesale dismissals would face significant statutory and contractual hurdles, including collective-bargaining obligations and civil-service protections.

"This is a reckless escalation with real consequences for families who depend on federal paychecks," an official representing a major federal workers' union said in a statement. Congressional leaders urged a return to negotiations but signaled little immediate appetite for compromise. Senate Democrats rejected a short-term continuing resolution that, they said, contained provisions shifting costs for health care and retirement benefits onto workers.

The political dynamics reflect control of the House by Republicans who demanded spending reductions and policy riders that Democrats oppose, and a Senate split in which Democrats can block legislation they argue would shift costs to beneficiaries. Without a temporary spending bill or a full-year appropriations package, agencies will remain in partial shutdown until lawmakers act.

Economists and municipal officials warned of broader fallout. Local governments that rely on federal grants and contractors who serve public programs face delayed payments, and small businesses near affected federal facilities could see reduced customer activity. Past shutdowns have produced measurable short-term hits to economic activity and longer-term costs tied to back pay and interrupted services.

Legal analysts said the president's threat to order mass dismissals would encounter statutory constraints and likely litigation. "Removing hundreds of thousands of employees overnight is not a simple managerial decision; it would implicate statutes governing hiring, firing and collective bargaining," one labor law expert noted.

For voters and civic institutions, the shutdown raises immediate questions about accountability and the ability of divided government to manage routine functions. Lawmakers face pressure to pass a stopgap measure that protects workers' benefits while reopening the government, but party leaders offered competing visions about spending priorities and the concessions they would accept.

As the first day of the shutdown unfolded, federal employees and their families braced for uncertainty, unions called for congressional action, and businesses and local governments began tallying potential losses. The next round of votes in the House and Senate will determine whether the stalemate persists and whether the president follows through on his threat — a choice that could reshape federal employment policy and shape voters' assessments of both parties ahead of future elections.