The federal government of the United States was shut down Friday at midnight.

The shutdown means that most of the services provided by the federal government won't be available.

It happened because the government failed to get enough votes to pass its 2018 federal budget; it needed 60 votes but only got 50. (The budget is an important document that details how the government will spend money. Without a budget, the government cannot fully operate.)

Both of the major parties in the United States are blaming each other. The Democrats are blaming Trump and his Republican Party and vice-versa.

The reasons for the shutdown are complicated, and they have to do with the fact that government bills are usually about more than one thing. Voters have to agree to the whole bill when they vote for it. One of the reasons the Democrats didn't vote to pass the budget had to do with the "DACA" part of the bill.


Source: US Government Shuts Down (ARTICLE UPDATED)


David Cottle

UBB Owner & Administrator