The federal government officially entered a shutdown at midnight Wednesday after congressional leaders were unable to reach a deal on a stopgap spending bill, leaving lawmakers grasping at straws over how to break the impasse.

The shutdown became a certainty after lawmakers voted down a pair of stopgap funding packages — one a “clean” bill offered by Republicans, the other filled with Democratic priorities — on Tuesday evening, with few discussions taking place between the party leaders to find a pathway to a deal.

In the interim, both sides are engaging in a blame game that has been red-hot for days.

“The Democrat caucus here in town in the Senate has chosen to shut down the government over a clean, nonpartisan funding bill. That’s right — a clean, nonpartisan funding bill,” Senate Maj

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