The government shutdown became the longest in US history as the effects were felt across the country Government news

As the shutdown enters its 36th day, Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over healthcare spending.

The United States government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record for the longest in the country’s history and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans.

Federal program cuts affecting food assistance, flight delays and federal workers nationwide forced to work without pay ended Wednesday, among other critical aspects of daily life.

There are federal agencies grind to a halt Since Congress failed to approve funding since last September 30, and welfare programs are in limbo, the pain has been growing.

US President Donald Trump, whose first term in the White House set the record for the previous government shutdown, will meet with Republican senators for breakfast early Wednesday. But no talks with Democrats are scheduled.

Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats on their demands to save expiring health insurance subsidies unless they agree to reopen the government, claiming he is “persecuting” them.

Hours before the record-breaking shutdown hit midnight on Tuesday, the Trump administration sounded alarm bells at airports across the country in case the crisis moves into a sixth week, with staffing shortages crippling airports and closing parts of the airspace.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy It is anticipated that there may be chaos Another pay miss for air traffic controllers in the skies next week.

Air travel will set a new record for the busiest U.S. holiday on Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, with 5.8 million people flying domestically, the American Automobile Association predicts.

More than 60,000 air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officials are working without pay, and the White House has warned that increased absenteeism could mean chaos at check-in lines.

Airport workers calling in sick instead of working without pay — which causes significant delays — was a major factor in Trump Ending the 2019 shutdownIt began with a demand for funding to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

However, Democrats and Republicans are deadlocked on the main point of the current standoff — healthcare spending.

Democrats say they will vote to end the funding shortfall only after a deal is reached to make health care affordable for millions of Americans.

Republicans will address healthcare only after Democrats vote to turn the lights back on in Washington, DC.

While leadership on both sides has shown little appetite for compromise, there are signs of life on the backbenches, with a handful of moderate Democrats working to find a way out.

A separate bipartisan group of four centrist House members unveiled a compromise framework Monday to lower health insurance costs.

Democrats believe that as millions of Americans enroll in health insurance programs next year to see skyrocketing premiums, they will pressure Republicans to compromise.

Trump has tried to pressure Democrats to cave in by threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target progressive priorities.

On Tuesday, he repeated the threat Close a critical aid program That helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time in its more than 60-year history, even though the move has been blocked by two courts.

The White House later clarified, however, that it was “fully complying” with its legal obligations and working to get SNAP payments “as quickly and as quickly as we can.”