Republicans control all branches of government in Washington, but Democrats are demanding that any funding agreement include provisions to prevent health insurance cost increases for millions of Americans who rely on Affordable Care Act ( ACA) subsidies.

Federal employees who don't receive a paycheck during the government shutdown get paid retroactively, but that can take a while.

The law protects Congress's power over the purse by preventing the Executive Branch from operating without funding agreed upon by the House and Senate.

A day after estimating that the Arkansas' executive branch agencies would furlough about 264 employees effective Wednesday in the event of a federal government shutdown, the state Department of Shared Administrative Services didn't have updated figures on the number of furloughed employees on the shutdown's first day,

With no spending deal in sight and the Oct. 1 funding deadline fast approaching, such a shutdown now seems increasingly unavoidable.

The budget chief’s strategy has its roots in two shutdowns during the Trump administration: One was triggered by Democrats over a weekend in early 2018; and the other started in late 2018 and closed parts of the government for more than a month, the longest in U.S. history.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development posted a banner on its homepage Tuesday blaming the government shutdown on the "Radical Left."

Anticipating a federal government shutdown, Arkansas’ executive branch agencies were prepared to furlough an estimated 264 employees effective Wednesday, a spokesperson for the state Department of Shared Administrative Services said Tuesday.

Gov. Josh Green and the Department of Human Resources Development are urging executive branch departments to expand usage of Operation Hire Hawai‘i to help fill critical state government vacancies.

The federal government shutdown began at midnight as President Trump and Democrats blamed each other for failing to reach an agreement.