WASHINGTON:- The US federal government has shut down overnight due to a budget shortfall after talks between President Trump and congressional leaders broke down. Effective at 12:01am on October 1st, all government employees deemed “nonessential” will not be paid.

The White House has warned federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs. President Trump told reporters that “we are going to cut a lot of people… on a permanent basis”.

Bushra Amiwala, the country’s first Gen Z elected official and candidate for Illinois’ 9th district, said in her statement, ‘The president is stubborn.’ This shutdown will hurt us all. Why? Because he will take the opportunity to fire thousands of federal employees.’

“These are the people who keep our roads passable, our air breathable and our water drinkable. They alert us when hurricanes and tornadoes are on the way. They make sure our medicine is safe, our airports are functioning and our preschools stay open. In short: we need them.”

Congressional Democrats have resisted keeping the government open if doing so requires them to cut healthcare programs under the Affordable Care Act.

“Healthcare is the sticking point of these negotiations, as it should be! Democrats refuse to slash healthcare benefits that millions of Americans depend on,” said Amiwala, Skokie School District 73.5 Board Member. “This is callous political brinkmanship by my colleagues across the aisle. We cannot play games with lifesaving, essential health coverage.”

The longest government shutdown occurred under the first Trump administration. It spanned 35 days from 2018 into 2019, forcing 800,000 federal employees to go without pay.

There is no indication of when the government might reopen this time.

“The president has not negotiated in good faith. And the longer this goes, the more lives he disrupts,” said Amiwala. “He does not care about the people who keep our country running. Those are the same people I’ll fight to protect in Congress.”