Vote to end US government shutdown fails in Senate

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer attends a news conference about the US government shutdown at Capitol Hill, Washington DC (Jacquelyn Martin/AP photo)

A vote to end the US government shutdown hours after it began failed on Wednesday, as Democrats in the Senate held firm to the party’s demands to fund health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republicans refuse to provide.

The tally showed cracks in the Democrats’ resolve but offered no breakthrough.