The Longest Government Shutdown in US History
The current US government shutdown has become the longest on record, surpassing previous records and creating uncertainty about when the budget standoff between Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress will end. This situation has led to the temporary suspension of many government services, with around 1.4 million federal employees either on unpaid leave or working without pay.
The root of the shutdown lies in the inability of Republicans and Democrats to agree on a bill funding government services past 1 October, when the previous federal budget expired. In the US system, Congress must approve a spending plan to send to the president for signing into law. While Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they lack the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass the spending bill, giving Democrats some negotiating power.
Democrats have pushed for the inclusion of an extension of expiring tax credits that make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans and a reversal of Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, a government healthcare program used by millions of elderly, disabled, and low-income people. They also oppose spending cuts to government health agencies.
A stopgap bill designed to avoid the shutdown was passed in the House but did not clear the Senate. As a result, the government shut down on 1 October, marking the first time in nearly seven years. By 5 November, the shutdown had entered its 36th day, surpassing the 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first presidential term in 2018/2019.
Ending the shutdown requires the two parties in the Senate to find a compromise that Trump will sign. Several votes aimed at reopening the government have failed. Republicans argue they want to negotiate health insurance subsidies separately and only pass what they call a “clean resolution.” However, the Trump administration has been unwilling to offer substantive concessions and believes the Democrats will bear the brunt of public blame.
On the other side, Democrats believe their efforts to secure cheaper healthcare are popular with voters. There is also pressure from the party’s left wing, which feels they folded too quickly during the budget dispute in March 2025. Analysts suggest that some moderate Democrats and Republicans may be open to reaching a deal before Thanksgiving on 27 November.
Essential Services Continue, Non-Essential Are Affected
Not all aspects of government stop during a shutdown. Services deemed essential continue as normal, but most staff are not paid until the government reopens. Border protection and law enforcement staff, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and in-hospital medical care workers operate as usual.
However, many flights have been cancelled or delayed due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, who are also expected to work without pay. The Transportation Department has announced the cancellation of thousands of flights at 40 airports across the country, citing controller fatigue. The Federal Aviation Administration’s emergency order, enacted on 7 November, caused thousands of flight delays and cancellations in its first day.
The air traffic reduction is expected to reach 10% of all domestic flights, leading to chaos and panic at airports for many travelers ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel season. Thousands of government employees deemed non-essential have been furloughed – temporarily put on unpaid leave.
US troops were on track to miss their paycheck in mid-October until the Trump administration identified funds to pay them. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson warned this was a “temporary fix” and future payments may not be made. Money for Snap (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), commonly known as “food stamps,” has also run out. The 41 million people enrolled in the program were warned in late October that they would lose their food assistance, but lawsuits have aimed to keep it going.
A federal judge on 6 November ordered the administration to fully fund the program using emergency funds, but the order was put on hold the next day by the US Supreme Court. The high court allowed the government to withhold about $4bn (£3bn) in funding for two days while lower courts consider a request from the administration to pay only partial Snap benefits.
Social Security and Medicare cheques are still being distributed, although benefit verification and card issuance work may be interrupted. Services like federally funded pre-schools and institutions like the Smithsonian museums have been reduced or closed. Some major national parks and monuments across the country have closed, including Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay Area and the interior of the Washington Monument.
During the previous shutdown between December 2018 and January 2019, parks were kept open with no staff, which led to vandalism and looting at a number of historical sites. Mail is still being delivered and post offices are open because the US Postal Service does not depend on Congress for funding.
Most American schools are state-funded, but the federal government is responsible for billions of dollars in grants and student loans, which could effectively come to a halt. However, because the grants are typically awarded during the summer, schools are expected to be largely unaffected during this shutdown, according to the education secretary.
Members of Congress are still being paid, a convention that has been criticized by some politicians.
White House Response and Economic Impact
In the past, lengthy government shutdowns were seen as politically dangerous to lawmakers and the current occupant of the White House, as they disrupted voters’ everyday lives. However, this time, the White House appears more than happy to shutter large parts of the US government for an extended period. Trump has threatened to break with the past practice of returning government operations to normal, bringing spending back to previous levels, and paying workers retroactively for the shutdown.
Since January, his administration has already slashed government spending and sacked many federal workers, testing the boundaries of presidential power. Now he is seeking to permanently fire “non-essential” workers during the shutdown. “We’ll be laying off a lot of people,” Trump said on 30 September, the day before the shutdown began.
The administration has also warned that furloughed “non-essential” workers may not receive their unpaid salary after the shutdown finishes. On 7 October, Trump told reporters that back pay “depends on who we’re talking about” and that some workers “don’t deserve to be taken care of.”
Many lawmakers insist this is wrong, including the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, who said: “The law is clear – every single furloughed federal employee is entitled to back pay, period.” Earlier in October, the administration’s attempt to lay off about 4,000 workers was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, but the White House is appealing against the ruling.
Economic Effects and Historical Context
The impact of government shutdowns on the economy is typically limited and temporary, similar to the disruption caused by a hurricane or major storm. However, it still causes problems. Approvals for loans and permits are delayed, as are reviews of potential stock listings.
By one estimate, $800m (£614m) in new federal contracts are not being awarded each day. Unlike government employees, contractors do not receive back pay once the shutdown ends, and many of the companies are small businesses without other big clients. Overall, analysts estimate this shutdown will knock roughly 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points off economic growth for each week that it continues – about $15bn a week.
But those losses threaten to become more substantial – and harder to make up – the longer the shutdown lasts. Analysts are worried the shutdown could hurt shopping and spending during the key holiday months of November and December.
There are also new possible economic factors in this shutdown, as Trump moves to fire workers or deny them backpay and cancels federally funded projects – all of which could extend or deepen any hit to the economy. Meanwhile, the suspension of key releases of economic data, like the monthly jobs report, has added to uncertainty. Without basic information about how the country is faring, policymakers could be at risk of committing grave errors.
Previous Government Shutdowns
Shutdowns over budgets are a unique aspect of US politics. They have become quite common over the past 50 years – with three taking place during Trump’s first presidential term. The last shutdown, which began in late December 2018, was brought about by disagreements over funding a wall on the Mexico border.
It finally ended in part because large numbers of air traffic controllers, who had been working for a month without pay, began calling in sick, as has started to happen during the current shutdown. At the time, flight disruption quickly spread, and the shutdown came to an end shortly afterwards.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the 2018-2019 shutdown reduced economic output by about $11bn, including $3bn that it never regained. But shutdowns pre-date Trump.
The Republican Ronald Reagan oversaw eight shutdowns during his presidency in the 1980s – though all were relatively brief. Former Democrat President Bill Clinton had a 21-day shutdown in 1995, while his fellow Democrat Barack Obama had a 16-day shutdown in 2013.