The federal government is still shut down. Here's what that means across the country

toggle caption David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The government shutdown has lasted 15 days — and counting.

Republicans and Democrats appear no closer to an agreement to reopen it. The Senate again tried — and failed — Wednesday to advance a bill to reopen the government. It was the chamber's ninth attempt since the shutdown began on Oct. 1 to vote on a short-term funding bill passed by the House.

The Trump administration has been following through on threats to slash the size of government during the shutdown, laying off thousands of workers late last week. A hearing in federal court today considered the legality of those layoffs; the judge overseeing the case issued a temporary restraining order directing the Trump administration to pause RIF notices to federal employees who are members of two unions, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

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Read the latest on a case brought by some fired federal workers to pause the latest wave of shutdown layoffs.

President Trump has said he plans to fire more federal workers en masse while the shutdown continues and will specifically target what he called "Democrat programs."

While active military members were set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, over the weekend President Trump said he "identified funds" to ensure the active military gets paid. The Defense Department will use "approximately $8 billion" of unused research and development funding from last year to pay service members if the government doesn't reopen by Oct. 15, according to a Pentagon official not authorized to speak publicly. That would likely only cover one pay cycle and military families are already seeking additional assistance from food banks and other groups to help with paying bills.

As the shutdown drags on, here's the latest on what we know.

Jump to state-specific impacts.

Why did the federal government shut down?

A partisan argument over if and when lawmakers need to act to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces led to the current shutdown. Some 24 million people — who don't have insurance through their jobs or a public program like Medicaid — use the system to buy health plans.

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Prominent Republican lawmakers have claimed the Democrats are looking to provide tax dollars to help pay for the heath care of undocumented immigrants. That is not true.

Democrats in the Senate refused to vote for the Republican short-term funding bill that passed the House but did not include an extension of the health care tax credits. Democrats are also hoping to repeal cuts to health care programs that were put in place as part of the GOP spending and tax bill that passed over the summer.

Read more about more on the debate over these subsidies here.

Plus, why Democrats are casting the government shutdown as a health care showdown.

— Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR

What about WIC and SNAP benefits?

Among the first to feel the pinch during this shutdown could be the 7 million mothers and young children who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food program. Funding was estimated to run out after about two weeks.