 "How Trump has given the US its two longest govt shutdowns in history")
The United States federal government is again at a standstill, entering its 36th day without full operational funding.
This marks the second time a shutdown under President Donald Trump has become the longest in US history, surpassing the 35-day closure that occurred during his first term.
The continued impasse has led to withheld paychecks for federal workers and interruptions to public assistance programmes amid growing pressure from unions for a resolution.
At the centre of the dispute is whether negotiations over health insurance subsidies tied to the Affordable Care Act should occur before or after the government is reopened.
Trump has stated he will not discuss those subsidies while the government remains unfunded, while Democrats have refused to approve any full spending measure until protections for the subsidies are ensured.
How services remain disrupted nationwide in the US
Federal employees across multiple agencies have either been placed on unpaid furlough or instructed to continue working without pay, with many now missing multiple pay periods.
The US Transportation Department has warned that continued delays in pay for air traffic controllers may soon affect aviation safety and flight schedules.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that disruptions had already emerged in some airports and warned that delays could worsen. He said there could be “chaos” in the air system if controllers are unable to continue working without compensation.
Other public assistance programmes are also strained. The shutdown affected payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which supports roughly one in every eight Americans.
The Department of Agriculture initially prepared to halt benefits for November, but after two court rulings, the administration announced it would release partial funding for that month.
The emergency source allocated for that purpose contains only enough to cover approximately half of the programme’s usual monthly spending, leaving uncertainty about whether further assistance can be extended if the funding lapse continues into December.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who led one of the legal challenges aimed at forcing continued Snap funding, said, “The Trump Administration has the means to fund this program in full, and their decision not to will leave millions of Americans hungry and waiting even longer for relief as government takes the additional steps needed to partially fund this programme.”
The administration also approved a temporary injection of $450 million into the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which several states had previously warned would run out of funding partway through the month.
The contribution follows an earlier transfer of $300 million in unused tariff-related revenue to help maintain WIC operations.
Why this has become the longest shutdown in US history
The primary issue driving the current funding lapse concerns federal assistance tied to premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Those enhanced subsidies, originally created during the Covid-19 pandemic, are set to wind down.
Millions of individuals participating in health insurance markets have received notices indicating substantial increases in their premiums if the additional federal support expires.
Democrats have insisted that a clear legislative commitment to preserve the subsidies accompany any spending measure that reopens the government.
Republicans have said they are open to discussing the subsidies but only after funding bills are approved and normal operations resume. Many Senate Republicans have stated that they want to review the subsidy programme and consider modifications before agreeing to extend it.
In the Senate, Democratic officials have said that approving a government funding bill without addressing health care costs would undermine their leverage and fail to prevent an increase in insurance costs during the coming enrollment period.
“Why is this happening? We’re in a shutdown because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: health care premiums,” US Senator Amy Klobuchar said.
She urged leaders to negotiate, “Stop this mess, come to the table, negotiate it.”
Senate Democrats held an extended closed-door meeting to discuss possible procedural paths to reopen the government but left without announcing any new strategy. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the caucus is continuing to examine potential approaches and said, “We’re exploring all the options.”
How Trump & Co. have responded to the impasse
Trump has declined to participate directly in negotiations with Democratic leaders. He has instead been in communication with Senate Republicans and has publicly called on them to eliminate the Senate filibuster — the rule that requires most legislation to receive at least 60 votes to proceed.
Trump has argued that ending the filibuster would allow the party in power to pass funding legislation without Democratic support.
In an interview broadcast on CBS News, the US president said, “I won’t be extorted” when asked about Democratic efforts to tie reopening the government to approvals regarding subsidies.
He also said Democrats “have lost their way” and predicted they would eventually support reopening without attaching conditions.
He added, “I think they have to. And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.”
“Republicans have to get tougher… If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”
However, senior members of the Republican caucus have rejected eliminating the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have both said that maintaining the rule is essential to safeguarding minority party rights in the chamber.
Both have stated that the filibuster has historically protected Republicans when they were in the minority and that changing the rule could allow future Democratic majorities to advance policies Republicans oppose.
Despite rejecting the filibuster proposal, Thune has said he wants to see the government reopen and called the current funding lapse the most severe in US history.
He said, “Shutdowns are stupid,” stating that prolonged suspension of government services harms public trust and federal operations.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Republican senators over breakfast on Wednesday, though no further high-level talks with Democrats have been arranged.
When the US witnessed its other longest shutdown under Trump
During Trump’s first term, the federal government was partially closed for 35 days from late 2018 through January 2019.
In that instance, the dispute concerned funding for a wall at the United States-Mexico border.
Trump held several public meetings with congressional leadership during the earlier shutdown but ultimately signed legislation reopening the government after airport delays intensified and federal employees faced extended periods without pay.
In interviews since then, Republicans have acknowledged that the political and logistical costs of prolonged closures are typically significant. Many transportation and labor organisations have echoed those concerns, arguing that the federal workforce cannot withstand continued gaps in pay.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner said that any potential resolution still requires the president’s direct approval.
He said, “Republicans can’t move on anything without a Trump sign off.” He also said he hoped the shutdown could conclude soon following Trump’s return to Washington.
How attempts are being made to end the shutdown
While leadership remains at an impasse, a group of senators from both parties has been working on potential compromise measures. Those discussions have included senators involved with the appropriations process, including Senator Susan Collins and Senator Mike Rounds.
Several Democrats, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator Maggie Hassan, and Senator Chris Coons, have also participated in conversations. Senator Gary Peters has said that discussions have become more frequent in recent days.
One element under review is whether smaller funding bills that already have broad support could be approved separately. These measures would apply to areas such as agriculture and military construction and could proceed while negotiations continue on the health care subsidies.
Senator Katie Britt expressed support for this approach, saying, “I certainly think that three-bill package is primed to do a lot of good things for the American people.”
Senators involved in these discussions have said that ensuring the appropriations process returns to regular order is important to preventing similar shutdowns in future funding cycles.
However, lawmakers from both parties have said that reaching agreement on the ACA subsidies will require additional negotiation time, and it remains unclear how quickly such talks can progress.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has used public messaging to criticise Democratic leaders during the shutdown.
Videos and parodies have been posted by the White House mocking Democrats, including imagery involving House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
A satirical page on the White House website, styled to resemble early social networking platforms, includes the line: “We just love playing politics with people’s livelihoods.”
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