Less than 24 hours left before possible shutdown in US

© Photo: Maria Novoselova/Vestnik Kavkaza

Less than 24 hours before a possible shutdown, the White House began the countdown to October 1, the day when the government will be forced to temporarily shut down its work as Congress lacks time to pass an initiative to extend its funding.

The White House press service began a countdown: in less than 24 hours, the US federal government could stop its work due to lack of funding; now it informs users of the social network X (formerly Twitter) about this every hour.

"17 hours left until government shutdown by extremist Republicans,”

- the post in the social network X reads.

Other White House social networks report that there are 24 hours left before a possible shutdown. The US administration believes that the Republicans controlling the House of Representatives are to blame for this situation. They are ready to approve the extension of government funding only after a significant reduction in government spending.

A month before the potential government shutdown, the White House representatives began talking about its possible consequences and repeatedly warned Congress and the public about it. There was even a proposal to legislators to adopt an initiative of a temporary extension of the government funding in order to avoid a possible suspension of its work, but it was not accepted.

Now, Congress must adopt such an initiative before midnight from Saturday to Sunday (07:00 Moscow time Sunday), when the current fiscal year ends in the country. Otherwise, the government officials will face non-payment of salaries, forced unpaid leave, hundreds of thousands of civil servants will face dismissal, and many government programs will be terminated. So far, the project to extend the government funding has not been approved by either chamber.

A similar situation was in 2020, when the US President Donald Trump, preventing a shutdown, signed a temporary one-day budget.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed hope that such a situation will not happen again, calling on Congress to take all measures so that the federal government is not forced to stop working.