By Richard Allyn        

The federal government officially shut down at midnight as last-minute efforts by Congress to pass temporary funding measures failed. The shutdown comes after Democrats and Republicans were unable to agree on extending health care benefits as part of a short-term spending bill.

"Republicans continue to refuse to work with Democrats to keep the government open," said Congressman Scott Peters.

The Senate rejected a Republican-backed proposal that would have extended federal funding at current levels until mid-November. Democrats insisted on including an extension of Affordable Care Act benefits set to expire this year and reversing cuts to Medicaid.

"Pushing this off for a few weeks is really untenable for us Democrats," Peters added.

"This one is different, because this one is going to hurt more than other government shutdowns.. and it will be because Donald Trump's Republicans decided it was more important to raise your health are costs than to keep the government open," said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs.

President Trump refused to consider the Democrats' demands, saying from the Oval Office, "No country can afford to pay for illegal immigration health care for everybody that comes into the country, and that's what they're insisting. And obviously, I have an obligation to not accept that that would affect everybody."

However, Democrats countered that they are not trying to provide health care for undocumented immigrants. 

"Current law already prevents that from happening. We are trying to provide health care and keep health care costs down for working every day Americans," Peters said.

The shutdown will impact federal workers, including 47,000 in San Diego County who face potential furloughs and layoffs. Essential employees like military personnel, TSA workers and air traffic controllers must continue working without pay until a deal is reached.

Congresswoman Jacobs warned that the shutdown is "making it even harder for our military families to make ends meet when they already struggle to afford housing and child care and put food on the table in San Diego."

While Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits will continue during the shutdown, there may be delays in services. The longest previous government shutdown lasted 34 days in 2018-2019 over disagreements on border wall funding.

"We are here," added Congressman Mike Levin, "We are ready to negotiate."