The US government in Washington, D.C. has officially shut down at midnight local time, the BBC reports.

This is likely to lead to unpaid leave for hundreds of thousands of workers, and many government programs and services will be suspended. Just hours before the shutdown, the Republican Party-controlled Senate failed to pass a government spending bill. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he hoped the defeat of the Republican Party bill—for a second time this month—"will open lines of communications" with Republicans.

That hasn’t yet happened. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “and I have made clear we are ready, willing and able to sit down and with anyone, anytime, any place to fund the government and to address the Republican health care crisis," Jeffries said shortly before the Senate votes.