On the midnight of October 1st, 2025, the U.S. government shut down for the first time in seven years. A disagreement took place between the Democratic and Republican Party in which the Democrats advocated for expanding healthcare funding, while the Republican-led government spending bill completely disregarded the issue.
The government shuts down when Congress, the legislative branch of the United States, fails to pass necessary bills to fund federal government agencies. Since federal agencies rely on the authorization from the Congress to spend money, public services without the funds might be unavailable for the duration of the shutdown.
The last two government shutdowns happened during President Trump’s first term as president. One took place over two days from January 20th to January 21st, 2018, and the other over 35 days—the then longest in history—from December 22nd, 2018 to January 25th, 2019. According to NewsWeek, the shutdowns costed around three billion dollars in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total market value of all final goods produced by a country. Nine executive departments were shut down either fully or partially, and around 800,000 employees were either fired, put on unpaid leave, or required to work without pay.
The Republican Party has been accused of using the shutdown as a chance to obtain more control over the budget. Thousands of layoffs have been confirmed, and the White House already has a list of specific agencies that will be targeted for cuts.
On the night of October 5th, 2025, when asked about the potential layoffs of federal employees, Trump reportedly stated, “It’s taking place right now, and it’s all because of the Democrats.” Public government websites have shown warnings to viewers regarding facilities and social media, with no further indication of updates or supervision. On the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) website, the first words displayed when you open the website target the Democratic party by pointing fingers: “activities of FDA will continue during the Democrat-led government shutdown.” Similarly, the White House website states that “Democrats Have Shut Down the Government.”
Speculations from some critics believe that shutdowns are “normal,” declaring that government shutdowns occur every year for a few days and barely affect federal jobs. The duration of the shutdown has reached the point where several services have been delayed, including air travel. As control towers are shut down, airport staff—specifically controllers in the tower—are concerned about the financial impacts from the shutdown. The National Flood Insurance Program has even declared that new flood insurance provided will be “expired for the duration of the government shutdown.”
On October 6th, two proposals from both parties were made for funding, both of which failed in the Senate. Although Trump has shown willingness to collaborate with the Democratic Party, the consequences of the shutdown have already taken effect.
This article also appears in our October 2025 print edition.
