White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt says federal workers could start losing their jobs "very soon" - within two days - as the US government shutdown continues
Vice-President JD Vance also joined the briefing, saying he doesn't know how long the shutdown will last and blaming congressional Democrats for the funding gap - as Democrats also blame Republicans. How did we get here?
President Donald Trump threatens "irreversible" mass layoffs as Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the shutdown - here's what's been said
Thousands of federal employees face unpaid leave but some essential workers still on the job face losing out on pay. Politicians in Congress will still be paid
One federal worker in the US prison system tells the BBC: "Holding onto our pay until they come up with a compromise is toying with millions of lives"
We are back on familiar ground, but if the stakes seem higher this time it's a reflection of Trump's presidency, writes our North America correspondent
Are you an affected US federal worker? Let us know via WhatsApp, external or email
Watch: Shutdown blame game as GOP and Dems point fingers
Voting has now started in the Senate on the second last-ditch funding bill of the night, this time the Republicans' proposal to fund the government past midnight and avert a shutdown.
You can watch live above to see lawmakers cast their ballots.
Image source, US SenateSenate Majority Leader John Thune is speaking on the Senate floor after Schumer, calling for a vote on the next spending resolution, this one led by Republicans.
He criticises Democrats for failing to support GOP-led efforts to keep the government open and accuses them of bowing to pressure from the far-left to oppose anything President Donald Trump has done or plans to do.
He says it’s time to fund the government and "get back to the business of the American people".
Image source, US SenateSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is speaking now moments after a Democrat-led proposal failed to get enough votes to avert a shutdown.
"Democrats remain ready to get to work to negotiate a truly bipartisan agreement to keep the government open,"he says. "But we need to fix our healthcare system now."
"The issue can't wait," he adds.
Image source, US SenateA Democrat-led proposal to fund the government has failed, bringing the US closer to a shutdown at midnight.
The funding bill failed with 53 senators voting against it and 47 voting for it, mostly along party lines. To keep the government open, the bill needed 60 of the 100 US senators to support it.
Up next, Republicans will put forward their own proposal which is expected to also fall short of the 60-vote threshold.
Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
We just spoke with Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, who is voting no on the Republican funding measure.
He expresses concern about cuts to healthcare benefits that could be made with the Republicans' stop-gap proposal.
Kaine is asked if he's concerned about government employees losing their jobs because of the looming shutdown, as Donald Trump has threatened permanent mass lay-offs if the government runs out of funding.
"It's a very real threat, it's just (that) he's already doing (it)," he says, in reference to Doge-led cuts to the federal workforce by the president earlier this year.
The Senate votes are now taking place.
As a reminder, Senators are voting on the temporary resolution by the Republicans that would keep the government running for seven more weeks, as well as a Democratic counter-proposal.
You can watch live above as senators cast their ballots, and we'll bring you the results when we get them, so stay tuned.
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Senate votes can be high drama. Recall the late John McCain of Arizona dramatically casting a “thumbs-down” to foil his party’s efforts to repeal the Obamacare health-insurance programme in 2017, or the narrow fight to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh the following year.
This evening's last-ditch attempts to avert a government shutdown are unlikely to offer any such memorable moments.
Even with the battle lines firmly set, however, it will be interesting to see if any Democrats break ranks and side with the Republicans. If there are more than a handful, it could indicate that there are fractures within the party that could spread once the pressure – and political pain – increases as the shutdown gets fully underway.
Visitors hoping to browse the collections at the Library of Congress may want to start making other plans.
Unless Congress reaches a deal, "effective 12:01 am Wednesday, Oct. 1, all Library of Congress buildings will be CLOSED to the public and researchers", the library advises.
"All public events will be cancelled."
The library's Thomas Jefferson Building is currently featuring exhibitions on the legacy of George and Ira Gershwin, including personal correspondence and sheet music, and The Two Georges, a display highlighting the duelling positions of George Washington and King George III.
The library also has concerts planned in October, including by London's Consone Quartet.
Image source, US Library of CongressLibrary of Congress staff preview the "Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution" exhibition on 24 March 2025
Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
We’ve just seen our first senator, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski.
Like many senators when they don’t want to talk, she stayed in conversation with her staffers, ignoring reporters' questions.
Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
Senators are expected to begin casting their votes for a last-ditch funding stopgap any minute now. I'm among the dozens of reporters waiting outside the Senate chamber in the Capitol for that vote to conclude.
I'm in a basement hallway, where cameras aren’t allowed but reporters are.
There were lots of folks like myself staked out here earlier in the day. Now, there's twice as many.
When senators finishing voting, they'll have to walk by us gathered press to leave the chamber. We're hoping they answer some of our questions.
I'll let you know what we hear from them.
The last US government shutdown was the longest ever, at 35 days. During that period between December 2018 and January 2019, a host of government sites were forced to close, and the effects sprawled across a large part of public life for many Americans.
This included delays at airports and struggles with staffing national landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and national parks across America.
Image source, Gianrigo Marletta/AFPA security checkpoint in Miami International Airport in 2018 after it was forced to shut down due to a shortage of security agents sparked by the partial US government shutdown
Image source, Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesA sign announcing closure of the National Archives, one of the many places that was forced to close during the shutdown due to staff shortages
Image source, Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesFull garbage cans stand near the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington
Image source, Nicolaus CzarneckiThe Bunker Hill Monument, run by the National Park Service, was one of their sites to shut. They faced a lack of staff, like many other places.
Natalie Sherman
Business reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesAnalysts are expecting about 40% of the federal workforce – more than 800,000 people – to be put on unpaid leave as a result of the shutdown.
That will depress spending – and also have wider ramifications, as environmental permitting, patent approvals, payments to contractors and other kinds of government activity tied to business comes to a halt.
Analysts estimate that the shutdown could shave as much as 0.2 percentage points off of US economic growth for each week it lasts.
But the economy typically recoups most of that lost activity after a shutdown ends, as it would after disruption caused by a natural disaster.
That could be one reason why the stock market has appeared largely unfazed by the current stand-off.
On the other hand, analysts say that if Trump carries out his threat of mass firings, the damage could be more long-lasting.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe have just heard from Donald Trump at the White House, where he once again said he would carry out mass firings of government employees in the event of a shutdown.
He blames Democrats for the shutdown and says: "We'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected."
"The last thing we want to do is shut it down, but a lot of good can come down from shutdowns," Trump says. "We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want, and they'd be Democrat things."
As the Senate prepares to vote on a last-ditch spending package to keep the US government funded, there's several key Democrats whose votes may decide the fate of the bill.
Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate and, if every Republican votes in favour of the bill, then they'll need at least 7 Democrats to join their side - if they can also snag a Yes vote from Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has indicated he may break with his caucus and vote No.
There are 10 Democratic senators to watch out for, all of whom voted with Republicans to advance another temporary spending bill back in March.
This time around, though, Chuck Schumer has said he will not support a temporary stopgap to delay a shutdown.
In a 19 September vote, all Democrats voted against the Republican bill with the exception of Fetterman, who says he will continue to support it. And in that vote, two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against their party's wishes.
Murkowski said earlier she plans to vote Yes on the continuing resolution.
Any funding measure will need 60 votes in the Senate to move forward. Senators are expected to vote in the next couple of hours on a continuing resolution already passed in the House of Representatives.
Here's where the likely vote count is for the moment:
Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the 100-member Senate.
Democrats hold 45 seats. The chamber’s two Independents, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, usually vote with Democrats.
At this point, the prospects do not look good for either side to be able to pass their preferred resolution to keep the government funded.
Republicans earlier this month defeated a Democrat proposal to keep the government open through October and make health subsidies permanent for low-income individuals. Likewise, Democrats blocked a Republican resolution to fund the government though 21 November.
The numbers look far different than when the Senate took up legislation to keep the government open in March. At that point, 10 Democrats voted for the Republican bill.
As a reminder, if senators cannot agree on a plan by midnight eastern time (0500 BST) the government will run out of money and have to shut down.
We're waiting to see if a government shutdown will go ahead. For US President Donald Trump, this is a familiar story.
He was the leader during the last shutdown in 2018 - the longest in US history.
Trump faced a 35-day shutdown, when Democrats resisted Trump's demand for $5.7bn (£4.4bn) for his Mexico border wall.
Nine of 15 federal departments, including State, Homeland Security, Transportation, Agriculture and Justice began partially shutting down after funding for them lapsed.
It saw huge affects on the aviation industry, as air traffic controllers faced long shifts and low numbers. Meanwhile, the FBI faced running out of resources. There were food shortages for the Coast Guard, and other food safety fears. Some 800,000 civil servants missed their paydays.
It stopped when Trump backed down and ended the stalemate. But that's not how he described it. He wrote at the time it was not a "concession", but instead "taking care of the millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the shutdown".
The US economy lost $3bn (£2.2bn) from the closure of federal agencies, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said at the time.
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Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer continues to speak to reporters, he says his Republican colleagues like to “tell lies”.
He has moved on to talking about the Democrats desires to extend Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, benefits set to expire later this year.
Republicans have repeatedly said Democrats want to fund healthcare for "illegal immigrants".
The federal government does not fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants under the ACA or Medicaid, Schumer says.
Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
Image source, Getty ImagesDemocrats do not want a shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tells reporters as he reaches the podium just minutes after Republican leadership spoke.
After months of asking to meet with Trump, Schumer says he and the Democratic House leader visited the White House yesterday.
Schumer says from those discussions it was clear Trump doesn’t understand what a government shutdown would mean for Americans.
Reporters are expecting to ask Schumer questions shortly - you can follow along by clicking Watch live at the top of this page.
Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
We’re expecting a Senate vote at around 17:00 EDT (22:00 BST). Exactly when remains unclear.
Both government funding bills will get a vote.
The first is the continuing resolution - the short term solution to keep the government open another seven weeks - which was passed by the House.
The second bill expected to get a vote will be the Democratic counter-proposal.
Also a reminder that federal funding expires tonight at midnight.