The government shutdown is now officially the longest in history, surpassing the previous record of 34 days set during President Trump’s first term. This suspension, which lasted from 2018 December 22 until 2019 on January 25, ended when the president refused the demands for financing the border wall.
It is becoming clear that there are currently no obvious concessions that will lead to the government opening up any time soon.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent all House members home shortly before Oct. 1, putting the chamber into recess. This strategy meant that the only way for the government to avoid a shutdown was for the Senate to muster the 60 votes needed to pass a “clean” continuing resolution passed by the House. With the government shutdown, the Senate was forced to vote on the resolution while the House adjourned and could not make any changes. So far, more than a dozen votes have been cast in the Senate, each falling short of 60 votes.
The continuing resolution is considered “clean” because it does nothing more than extend existing government funding until November 21. Democrats are asking for changes that would expand subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act, which were not included in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
However, with November 21 fast approaching. passing the current continuing resolution becomes a moot point. Even if it passed, it would give the House little time to craft another resolution that would be needed to fund the government through 2026. Senate Democrats have sent a clear message of what they hope for by passing such a continuing resolution, but there is no evidence that it could pass the House.
Also, Johnson has a vested interest in keeping the government shut down and the House in recess. Since inauguration day, the Speaker has shown unwavering loyalty to cater to the President’s every wish, whim and desire. There are advantages for Trump when the House is in permanent recess. Johnson may avoid sitting on recently elected Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz); Because the House is in recess and Grijalva is not sitting, the House can’t complete the process that will make the Epstein files public.
Johnson has hinted that he will not block a vote on the release of the late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein’s files. But such a claim is false and irrelevant, as Johnson knows. If the discharge petition has 218 signatures to release all files related to Epstein, Johnson cannot stop that vote under House rules.
In the current climate, the chairman hopes some Republicans among the 218 signatories will change their minds. If any of them do, the discharge petition will not lack the required number of signatures. Ironically, the less risky alternative for him is for the government to remain shut down so he can take a break from the House. As a result, the entire country is thrown into limbo, with government workers and the American people held hostage.
Johnson has offered only one way to end the shutdown: for the Senate to pass the current continuing resolution, which seems highly unlikely. His unspoken plan seems to be to shut down the government indefinitely. And because the Speaker defers so loyally to the President, all the power of government is transferred to the executive branch, with no congressional checks or balances on the president’s actions.
The current situation is that this government shutdown is more than a temporary event. It’s already the longest in our nation’s history, driven in large part by what could become the longest home stretch on record. It has helped our country change how our government works and where the seat of power lies. It is clear that this government no longer belongs to the people.
Ph.D. Sheldon H. Jacobson is a professor of computer science in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a data scientist, he uses his expertise in risk-based analytics to solve problems that impact public policy.
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