Washington • Federal workers got pay statements offering nothing but zeroes Friday, the most tangible and painful sign yet of a three-week partial government shutdown that has paralyzed Washington and is sure to become the longest closure in U.S. history. President Donald Trump and nervous Republicans scrambled to find a way out of the mess.
The House and Senate voted to give federal workers backpay whenever the federal government reopens and then left town for the weekend, leaving the shutdown on track to become one for the record books once the clock struck midnight and entered its 22nd day.