As the sun started its descent behind the U.S. Capitol building on Monday, it seemed virtually certain to rise on a partially shuttered federal government.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
hide caption
If Congress does not reach a budget agreement and the government shuts down, the U.S. Postal Service is one agency expected to remain in operation.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
hide caption
Party On: Legislation passed last week allows the Federal Helium Reserve to continue selling the stockpiled gas. Above, Jonathan Trappe launches his 370-balloon craft from Caribou, Maine, in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 12.
Alexandre Ayre/Barcroft Media/Landov
hide caption
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives Monday at the White House to meet with President Obama. The two are expected to discuss Iran's nuclear program, Syria's civil war, and peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
Susan Walsh/AP
hide caption
Inside the Capitol, lawmakers are battling over health care and the budget. Outside, many government services may come to a stop at midnight.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
hide caption
The audience concentrates on a presentation by Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger's office about the federal health care overhaul at the University of Kansas satellite campus in Overland Park, Kan., earlier this month.
John Hanna/AP
hide caption
With President Jimmy Carter watching, Benjamin Civiletti is sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger as U.S. attorney general on Aug. 16, 1979. The following year, Civiletti issued a legal opinion saying that federal work cannot go on until Congress agrees to pay for it.
AP
hide caption
The federal government remains on track to miss a midnight Monday deadline to fund its operations. Chambers of Congress sharply disagree over a temporary funding bill. Here, the Capitol is seen Saturday.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
hide caption
In friendlier times, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, left, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry participate in a 2011 panel discussion in Washington, D.C. At the time, O'Malley was chairman of the Democratic Governors Association; Perry was chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Now they're in a spat over Perry's efforts to lure Maryland businesses to Texas.
Alex Brandon/AP
hide caption
Women's health clinics have sued the state of Texas over its new abortion law, which they say will close more than a third of abortion providers in the state. Here, advocates for and against the bill are seen outside the Texas Capitol in Austin in July.
Eric Gay/AP
hide caption
