A division-sponsored government shutdown lasted forty-three days, making it the longest in recorded history
Government officials are playing a high-stakes game of chess: one side is composed of the left, the other the right. However, the Democrats are at a stalemate—both sides have to give up the promise of an uncompromised funding bill. The possibility of a government shutdown rarely crossed the minds of most Americans. Until, on October 1st, 2025, the government declared a shutdown. The Antideficiency Act was passed in 1884, ensuring that before the end of the year, Congress must pass an act approving government funding. If the act is not passed by Congress, federal agencies will stop any non-essential functions until Congress either decides to vote again on the act or redrafts it and votes. Usually, essential functions relate to safety and national security, like medical care, air traffic control, and law enforcement. Any activities deemed unessential—like National Park maintenance, Food and Health assistance, and passport and visa services—are temporarily paused, and “essential” workers don’t get paid. While there is guaranteed compensation once the government reopens, essential workers’ pay is on hold during the actual shutdown. Failure to compensate reduces incentives for workers to continue doing their job, and can cause essential services to be much slower during a shutdown. A government shutdown fundamentally slows down the work of all government-funded agencies. Though the forty-three-day shutdown ended five months ago, its repercussions continue to linger. Government shutdowns are chaotic, messy, and above all, preventable; to avoid another shutdown, the US government should focus on realistic funding bills and political unity to prevent further division.
This October, the government shutdown occurred because of a legislative impasse: the House of Representatives and Senate could not agree on twelve different annual appropriation bills. The Republican-controlled House repeatedly passed a continuing resolution, while Democrats in the Senate blocked it repeatedly. Over the course of the shutdown, the bill was passed and denied fourteen times. Then, on November 12, it was finally approved and signed by President Trump. The main areas of strife included Medicaid and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding. During the shutdown, 1.4 million federal employees were left without pay, and around half of them took a mandatory unpaid leave. The shutdown hit federal employees, small businesses, and the travel industry the hardest. The travel industry lost around $6.1 billion and forced small businesses to pay billions in loans. Flights were delayed, lines at airports were longer than ever, and crucially, the US economy took a major hit.
The economic output lost $7-14 billion during the shutdown, which lowered America’s GDP growth by an estimated one to two percent. Due to the Current Population Survey (CPS) being suspended, there is also a permanent gap in employment records from October 2025. Additionally, the 2025 shutdown resulted in the current partial government shutdown today, which suspends DHS funding. The Senate proposed a resolution where the department would have separate ICE funding, but the House has rejected it, leaving DHS at another impasse. The problem is that Democrats want to suspend and shrink ICE funding, while Republicans want to continue funding ICE. DHS employees are currently being paid using emergency funds, which are predicted to run out by early May and leave the government at yet another standstill. DHS is getting paid mainly to avoid long lines at airports, and to make up for the extended period from October to early December when they did not get paid for their “essential” work. The government shutdown has shown Americans that the government is more politically polarized than ever, causing nearly everything else to come to a standstill because Democrats and Republicans refuse to compromise.
The past nine months have been messy, chaotic, and frustrating for the government and its citizens. Americans debated questions about funding for ICE, Medicaid, and other agencies. The American government is more polarized than ever; government officials must find a way to unite on disputed topics by finding a healthy middle ground. Government shutdowns are avoidable; Congress must improve its legislative drafting and avoid resolutions that will not pass in both Houses.
