US Government Closed for Business After Senate Dems Block Funding Measure

A last-ditch effort to pass a short-term federal funding measure failed in the Senate last night. At the center of the standoff: deep cuts in Medicaid and safeguards on the president's power to cut future spending.

The ongoing push to prevent the government shutdown fell short in the Senate after the House had approved a temporary funding patch. It had been tied to the president's spending bill that cut nearly a trillion dollars from Medicaid over the next decade – a sticking point for Democrats.

"This truly is a Democrat-owned shutdown – a Chuck Schumer-owned shutdown," said Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY). "There is no negotiation, it's a shakedown when you ask for a trillion dollars for four weeks. It's absurd."