The White House has started the countdown to a possible shutdown

The White House on social network X has started a countdown to a possible suspension of the federal government (the so-called “shutdown”), which could occur on October 1 if Congress does not agree on the draft budget.

“18 hours until House Republicans shut down the government. This closure will deprive small businesses across America of more than $100 million in critical funding every day.”

In the next message, the White House recalled that the deal in the US Senate is supported by Republicans and Democrats, as well as President Joe Biden, and is opposed by Republicans in the House of Representatives.

September 26 in the US Senate agreed draft short-term budget until November 17. With the support of both houses of Congress, this could help delay the shutdown by six weeks. Otherwise, the federal government shutdown will occur as early as October 1. The State Department is preparing an action plan to address this possibility, stated formerly US foreign policy spokesman Matthew Miller.

On September 27, Biden criticized the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy (Republican), for allegedly not wanting to fulfill the terms of previous agreements with the White House on further government funding. Over the past two weeks, McCarthy has been trying to enlist the support of the far-right members of his party, who refused to vote for a short-term budget and demanded, among other things, spending cuts, the creation of a commission to discuss the problem of the national debt, etc. In the document, senators proposed allocating $4.49 billion for short-term military assistance to Ukraine and another $1.65 billion in additional financial assistance instead of the $24 billion Biden requested from Congress in August.

McCarthy himself previously stated that Americans should not yet fear a shutdown. There have been 21 shutdowns in US history, the longest being 35 days during the presidency of Donald Trump.