Get live updates from Capitol Hill as Republicans and Democrats in Congress scramble to avoid a government shutdown.

The U.S. government is under its first federal government shutdown in almost seven years as Senate Democrats have voted down a Republican bill to keep funding the government.

The first government shutdown in nearly seven years began at midnight after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on extending funding.

The government shutdown is in its third day on Friday with senators set to vote for the fourth time on bills to fund the government. But with negotiations appearing stalled, it’s looking like the shutdown could extend through the weekend.

Live from Senate floor as Congress faces a deadline to adopt a spending measure and prevent a federal government shutdown.

Last week, the White House Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to consider layoffs, or reductions-in-force, if the government shuts down — an unusual move since government workers are usually sent home without pay during a shutdown, rather than laid off permanently.

The Senate on Tuesday spurned a Democratic stopgap spending bill, putting lawmakers a step closer to a government shutdown ahead of the midnight deadline. Lawmakers voted along party lines,

Senate Democrats kept their promise to reject any Republican spending bill that didn’t extend or restore health care benefits, choosing instead to force a government shutdown

Watch live from the Senate floor as the U.S. government enters a shutdown, creating uncertainty across federal operations.

For a fourth time, the Senate failed to pass a short-term spending bill that would end a federal government shutdown and keep agencies running through November.Only three Democrats joined Republicans Friday to support the measure,