At midnight on December 22, the US federal government went into a partial government shutdown. The 115th Congress failed to pass legislation that would fund several federal agencies and departments for the next year. The shutdown is still going on, and now is entering its 21th day with no end in sight. It is on track to become the longest shutdown in history. On January 3rd the 116th congress come into session with the Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Republicans still have a majority in the U.S. Senate.  

The main reason for the shutdown is disagreements over funding for a border wall on the southern border with Mexico. The Trump Administration has requested 5 billion dollars be set aside for the wall and the Democrats have said they will not spend money on a wall. As the shutdown continues thousands of government workers are going without pay.