President Donald Trump has now presided over more days of government inertia than any other U.S. president.
He passed the undesirable milestone on Thursday, with the gridlock now in its fourth week. Republicans and Democrats remain entrenched in their positions that the other is to blame.
In total, Trump has accumulated 57 full days across two terms. He now edges out President Jimmy Carter, who oversaw 56 days across five shutdowns, albeit in a single term.
Of Trump’s 57 days, 36 were in the first term.
Third on the list is President Bill Clinton, with 26 days across two shutdowns.
Trump’s White House has used the cessation to further its political objectives, Axios reports.
The 79-year-old came to power promising to cut back the number of federal employees.
Since Congress failed to pass a new appropriations bill, thousands of government staffers have been laid off, and hundreds of thousands have been furloughed, CNN reports.
It’s also being used as a scythe with which to cut down what Trump regards as “Democrat” programs, ABC reports.
“The Democrats are getting killed on the shutdown because we’re closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we were opposed to. So, we’re being and—and they’re never going to come back in many cases,” Trump said on October 15.
Trump has a history of using shutdowns to advance his agenda.
During his first term, he pledged to keep legislators at home for “years” until he was allocated the funds he needed to build his controversial border wall with Mexico.
In that instance he caved, signing off on a short-term agreement that made no accommodation for the wall.
Congress fell short of reaching a deal on September 30, triggering a shutdown on October 1.
It has led to concerns about how various federal employees will be paid for their work.
Federal staff working in security environments have had their paychecks guaranteed by Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary. Trump signed the order on October 15.
According to Reuters, employees working for government agencies such as ICE and Border Patrol are having their payments prioritized over those of civilian workers.
There’s currently no end in sight.
Politico reports that Republicans are split over how long a continuing resolution should last, with some looking as far ahead as December 2026.
On October 22, the Senate didn’t advance the 12th bill that would have ended the shutdown.
It had already passed through the House, but was undone by a mammoth 22-hour and 37-minute filibuster from Oregon’s Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley.
Fears over paying federal employees come amid Trump’s $300 million redevelopment of the East Wing of the White House, which will be replaced with a 999-person ballroom.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said, “Democrats could end this shutdown today by simply voting for the same funding bill they supported several months ago, and 13 times under the Biden administration. And while Democrats keep the government shutdown, top House Democrats are bragging about using struggling families as ‘leverage’ to advance their radical left-wing agenda.”
Her colleague, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, added, “The government is shut down because Democrats refuse to vote to reopen it.”
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