The U.S. government shutdown on Wednesday became the longest in history, passing the 36-day mark with no end in sight as Republican and Democratic senators clash over resuming funding for blocked federal departments.
The shutdown surpassed the previous record of 35 days set in 2018. December and 2019 in January during Donald Trump’s first term, when government funding legislation was held up over his demand to include money for a wall along the Mexican border.
The controversy began on the first day of October when Democratic senators refused to vote on a government funding bill unless it included an extension of Joe Biden-era tax credits that reduce the cost of health plans purchased through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. Tens of millions of Americans are expected to be unable to afford insurance when the credits expire in 2025.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the funding bill in September with just one Democrat voting in favor, and Speaker Mike Johnson has since closed the chamber. As a result, most of the legislative action moved to the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune managed 14 votes on the legislation, all of which failed due to insufficient Democratic support.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the shutdown will cost the economy as much as $14 billion. USD GDP depending on how long it lasts.
As the weeks went by, the alarming milestones increased. About 700,000 federal workers were laid off during the government shutdown, and about the same number were told to continue working without pay until new funding is approved.
Donald Trump has largely distanced himself from the talks, holding one meeting with top Democrats and Republicans in Congress on the eve of the shutdown, which failed to find a compromise to avert the loss of appropriations. He recently urged Republican senators to end the filibuster, which requires 60 votes for most legislation. Thune said his lawmakers are opposed to such a change.
In mid-October, Mr. Trump announced that he would order regular salaries for the U.S. military to be paid from unused Pentagon research and development funds, a decision that experts told The Guardian was likely illegal.
Meanwhile, food banks across the country have reported an increased need for unpaid federal workers. It is expected to spill over into the wider public after the Department of Agriculture announced it was ending funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, and then said it would pay only half the regular allowance.
Republicans accused Democrats of irresponsibly shutting down the government by refusing to support a funding bill that would have kept the government shut until Nov. 21 while Congress voted on long-term funding measures.
But the minority party argued that Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, are responsible for the compromise, but that the Senate would need at least eight Democratic votes to pass the spending legislation. Only three Democrats voted for the current funding bill in the upper house, with Republican Sen. Rand Paul voting against it.
Democrats also say the GOP must address premium increases for plans under the ACA, which are expected to increase by an average of 26% if the tax credits are allowed to expire, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Open enrollment for these plans began in early November.