BATON ROUGE - A national government shutdown could have local consequences, and legal experts say there's something to learn from previous shutdowns.

On Wednesday, the federal government shut down when Congress ultimately couldn't agree on which government programs and services should continue to receive funding.

"There's no doubt there will be a ripple effect throughout the country, including here in Louisiana," Political analyst James Hartman said.

Del Wright, a law professor at LSU, said part of the reason the shutdown happened is that Democrats weren't willing to budge on health care issues.

Wright says the fight is coming from both sides of the aisle, not budging on spending.

"That's where the fight is," Wright said.

Louisiana leaders responded to the shutdown.

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