On the morning of Oct 1 the country woke up to shocking headlines. The government had “shut down.” News articles described Republicans blaming Democratic senators, and Democrats blaming Republican officials, but what actually happened?
On October 1, the U.S. government didn’t cease from functioning like the phrase “shut down” suggests. What happened was that law makers in Congress didn’t reach an agreement on federal spending for the 2026 fiscal year, and some government agencies automatically stopped receiving funding for a period of time.
Every government in the world has to do the same thing – decide how to spend their country’s money. The fiscal year in the United States runs from Oct 1 to Sept 30 the following year. At the end of the fiscal year, Congress proposes laws which authorize the government to spend money on specific purposes. This is done by proposing what is called the Appropriations Bills – acts providing legal authority for agencies to spend funds from the U.S. Treasury.
The reason for government shutdowns comes from the Constitution, which quotes, “No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but as a consequence of appropriations made by law.”
In the 1800s there were no shutdowns meaning that agencies could routinely blow through their budgets and continue to ask Congress for more money. In response, Congress passed the Antideficiency Act, which tells federal officials that they cannot spend money without an appropriation. This didn’t stop the government from missing deadlines, creating long gaps in funding. In the 1980s the Attorney General issued opinions that tightened this interpretation and stated that unless Congress has passed an appropriations bill, agencies can’t spend any money.
Reporting from the capitol Megan Mineiro from The New York Times explained that on Oct 1 Republicans largely pushed for a “clean” continuing resolution. This means a funding extension at current levels without additional policy changes. At the same time, Democrats wanted to attach or insist on concessions, especially around healthcare. Democrats are pushing to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, reverse proposed Medicaid cuts, and restore funding for public media and other priorities.
In a USA Today article published October 20 the disagreement is put in simpler terms. Democrats continue to complain about Republicans refusing to negotiate greater health care spending as a condition of reopening the government. Republicans have argued the government should reopen before health care talks begin.
Live updates by The Guardian explained that three Democrats have joined Republicans in voting to approve a house-passed bill to fund the government through Nov 21. However, the GOP needs another five to join them and overcome a 60-vote threshold.
On Wed. Oct 22, 2025, the Senate failed to approve this bill for the 12th time. The vote ended at 54-46, falling short of the 60 votes needed to move forward. Meanwhile, the Democrat sponsored continuing resolution, which includes the health care provisions, is opposed by all Senate Republicans.
2019 was the longest shutdown in history being 35 days. The U.S. economy lost $11 billion including a permanent $3 billion loss during the 2019 shutdown.
“A single policy dispute should not pose an existential threat to our government,” Thomas V. Ross said in an Op-Ed published in The Hill.
CNBC reported that since the shutdown, around 700,000 government workers have been furloughed, meaning they will receive no pay until the Senate comes to a resolution. Workers who are considered “essential” must continue to work during this period of time and receive no pay. During a shutdown the economy will typically take a short term hit and then experience a rebound afterwards. Right now because of the shutdown more than 40 million Americans are at risk of going without food assistance benefits at the end of the month if the shutdown continues.
Much like the fiscal cliff and raising the debt ceiling, a government shutdown forces lawmakers to sit down, come to the table, and hash out an agreement.
The more polarized our government parties are, the more divided our government is, and Congress has a harder time working out a budget agreement. Passing the Appropriations Bill has become one of the only times both parties are forced to agree on something. Right now the political ideology of Congress grows further apart each year, meaning that the likelihood of them agreeing on time for the Sept 30 vote becomes more unlikely.
Currently Congress is on track to break the record for the longest government shutdown in history. Americans wait in anticipation to see how our government is going to fix the mess we’re in.
