The government shutdown has passed a new milestone: It is now the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Thirty-five days have passed since President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats failed to reach a deal to fund the government by the Sept. 30 deadline, surpassing the length of the 34-day shutdown during Trump’s first term that previously held the record.
With Republicans and Democrats still apparently deadlocked, the current shutdown has no clear endpoint in sight. And many Americans are feeling its impact. Some federal employees have been working without pay for weeks now. Flights are being delayed and cancelled across the country because of airport staffing shortages. Millions of Americans who rely on food stamp benefits will receive only partial—and late—payments this month.
The country is in uncharted territory. There have been lengthy shutdowns before, including several others that stretched on for more than two weeks. But lawmakers in Washington have always managed to reach a resolution more quickly in the past.
What happened in the other longest shutdowns?
The last government shutdown was also, up until now, the longest one. The partial shutdown lasted from Dec. 21, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019, clocking in at 34 days. It stemmed from Trump’s request for $5.7 billion to fund the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which Republicans and Democrats sparred over for weeks before an agreement could be reached. The government reopened after Trump agreed to a temporary deal to fund the government until Feb. 15, 2019. The deal didn’t include funding for the wall, but a few days before Feb. 15, Congress passed a revised bill that did include some—though less than the amount Trump had initially requested, at $1.4 billion.
The next longest shutdown was during former President Bill Clinton’s first term. Lasting for 21 days, from Dec. 15, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996, the shutdown started because Republicans were seeking to cut social programs and rescind the President’s 1993 tax increase—which the President objected to. The government reopened after Republican lawmakers accepted a compromise that Clinton suggested.
While former President Barack Obama was in office, the government shut down for 16 days, from Sept. 30, 2013 to Oct. 17, 2013. Republicans refused to pass a funding bill that funded the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while Obama and Democrats pushed back on proposals put forth by GOP lawmakers that would have defunded or delayed it. The shutdown ended after bipartisan Senate negotiations resulted in small changes to the ACA.
Former President Jimmy Carter’s time in office was marked by multiple shutdowns that lasted over a week each. One, which stemmed from disagreements over whether Medicaid should fund abortions, lasted 12 days, from Sept. 30, 1977, to Oct. 13, 1977. Another that lasted 17 days, from Sept. 30, 1978 to Oct. 18, 1978, unfolded because of disagreements over abortion funding and Carter’s decision to veto a defense spending bill that included funding he deemed wasteful.
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