The shutdown of the US government began after a deadline to pass the budget through the Senate expired at midnight last night. The White House has ordered government agencies to begin closing, and more than 700,000 government workers are being told to stay at home from today. Republicans insisted on delaying President Obama's health care reforms as a condition for passing the budget. But the President and the Democrats in the Senate refused to negotiate on that issue. To find out more, RFI spoke to Tom Wales, a US analyst at Oxford Analytica and asked him whether this kind of impasse could become a regular occurrence during President Obama's mandate?
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe