Happening Now: White House Holds Press Briefing On Day 1 Of Shutdown

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief reporters Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the government shutdown went into effect.

Senators on both sides of the aisle have failed to come to an agreement on a stopgap funding plan. Republicans pushed forward a “clean” plan last month without input from Democrats, who argued that any spending bill needed to address health care tax credits and funding cuts.

President Trump, who has cast much of the blame on the left for the lapse in funding, signaled there could be “a lot” of layoffs if a deal is not reached to keep the lights on. Last week, the Office of Management and Budget informed agencies that mass firings could be on the table if the government does shut down.

The upper chamber of Congress on Wednesday afternoon voted again to block the GOP-passed bill which could have reopened the government until Nov. 21.

The briefing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EDT.