US government shuts down again
Rand Paul delays Senate vote until after midnight shutdown deadline

The US government will shut down for the second time in less than a month, after the Senate failed to vote on a controversial budget bill before last night’s midnight deadline.
The bill was widely expected to pass easily through the Senate, however it was significantly delayed by Republican Senator Rand Paul (pictured), who had baulked at the large spending increases the bill includes.
Paul spent hours demanding a vote on an amendment to the bill that would show how the budget deal would “demonstrate how the two-year budget deal breaks past pledges to rein in federal spending,” the Washington Post reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“I can’t in all good honesty, in all good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits,” Paul said.
Shortly before midnight, the Senate was adjourned until the early hours of this morning, local time.
The New York Times says that the Senate is expected to vote to pass the budget bill sometime after 1:00am, with the debate on the bill to begin in the House before daybreak, “though the outcome in that chamber is less certain.”
The bill is facing fresh criticism from Democrats over its lack of inclusion of any measure to protect the so-called Dreamers, whose shield against deportation was rescinded by Donald Trump earlier this year.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
House Democratic leaders have reportedly urged members to vote against the bill, following a meeting late on Wednesday afternoon.
According to The Guardian, dozens of House Republicans are also likely to vote against the budget bill “because of its impact on the federal debt and the increase in spending on domestic programs.”
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
‘Used correctly, the drug is safe’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Shutdown: Democrats stand firm, at a cost
Feature With Trump refusing to negotiate, Democrats’ fight over health care could push the government toward a shutdown
-
TikTok: A little help from Trump’s friends
Feature Trump’s new TikTok deal would hand the app over to 'his billionaire allies,' ignoring national security concerns
-
Trump promotes an unproven Tylenol-autism link
Feature Trump gave baseless advice to pregnant women, claiming Tylenol causes autism in children