The United States government is officially closed. Starting on Wednesday at 12.01am Washington time, the federal government ran out of money. Agencies and departments designed to protect consumers, workers and investors are now officially closed, as are national parks and museums. Most federal workers are not being paid as many as 750,000 could be furloughed including those who are required to remain on the job, like air-traffic controllers or members of the US military.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has been hoping to push the megabill through the House by Memorial Day before the lower chamber breaks for a one-week recess next week, but is still grappling with multiple holdouts and a razor-thin margin.