What Will Be the Consequences of U.S. Budget Disagreement?

The budget deadline is approaching, and a compromise with the Democrats has yet to be reached. On September 29, US President Donald Trump gave the Democratic Party leadership a "last chance." He called on them to come to the White House to discuss measures to prevent a government shutdown.

At the same time, the US administration's press secretary emphasized that now is not the time to score political points by attacking Trump, but to do the right thing by the American people and maintain government funding. However, 36 hours before the deadline, a common agreement was not reached. Vice President J.D. Vance predicted a government shutdown.

J.D. Vance, Vice President of the United States:

"You'll hear a lot from Democrats in the Senate and House about how American healthcare policy is broken. We've been trying to fix it for eight months now. But everything they're blaming on American healthcare is the policies Democrats have supported for the last decade. So if they want to talk about fixing American healthcare policy, let's do it. I think we're heading for a shutdown because the Democrats won't do the right thing. I hope they change their minds, but we'll see."

Americans risk turning the clock over—and another shutdown. There have been 14 such shutdowns in the United States since 1980. The longest lasted 35 days during Trump's first term. Back then, the bone of contention was the cost of building a border wall. Now, the sticking point is health insurance. The White House occupant wants to cut them, accusing those who finance this sector of giving large sums of money to illegal immigrants.

Mike Johnson, Speaker of the US House of Representatives:

"They wanted, as you said, to restore taxpayer-funded benefits. They want to take your money and give it to illegal immigrants. They want to restore it because we got rid of it. They want to support left-wing media."

The new fiscal year in the US begins on October 1. The country's budget has not yet been approved. Even the temporary funding bill has been rejected by the Senate.

Local media are sounding the alarm. The New York Times notes that the consequences could be colossal for federal employees and Americans dependent on a wide range of government services, as Trump officials have indicated they plan to carry out mass layoffs in the event of a government shutdown. If Capitol Hill fails to pass at least a temporary resolution to continue funding by tomorrow, a government shutdown will inevitably hit the country.

For millions of Americans, this means the risk of delays in wages, loans, and government services, and it also threatens to weaken the dollar. Debt markets could also tremble again, and hundreds of thousands of officials could be placed on unpaid leave.