A partisan standoff over health care and spending has pushed the federal government to the brink of its first shutdown in nearly seven years.

If lawmakers fail to act, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The House has passed a temporary seven-week funding bill, but Senate Democrats say they will block it unless Republicans agree to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits. The credits, expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, help millions of low- and middle-income Americans afford health insurance and are set to expire at the end of the year.

Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, insist on a “clean” spending bill without additional policy measures. The impasse threatens to furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers, close national parks, delay benefi

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