The federal government shutdown began on October 1, 2025 due to Congress’ inability to allocate funds for fiscal year 2026. Due to the disagreements, “non- essential” services will remain closed across the nation until further notice. The longer the shutdown lasts, the more impacts Americans will experience.
Part of Congress’ responsibility is to create a budget to send to the president for the next fiscal year. Both the House and the Senate have a Republican majority. In the Senate, 60 votes are needed to pass the new budget.
A key reason for Democrats’ opposition to the plan is the budget allocated for medical expenses. Earlier in the year, the Trump administration made cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid funds. Democrats are aiming to reverse these, as well as other cuts made to government health organizations. The unresolved disagreements led to the first government shutdown in almost seven years. In order to reopen the government, both chambers of Congress have to pass a bill that the president must sign.
Since the shutdown, both parties have remained firm on their stance, but some Democrats have said they are willing to vote with Republicans for the shutdown to end. Democrats have voted against the reopening of the government 14 times in an attempt to raise money for Medicaid. Republicans say these negotiations will not be made until the government is reopened.
The Trump administration has blamed Democrats for the shutdown. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has called Democrats “crazed people” who have no intentions of working to reopen the government. Trump said, “The Republicans are voting almost unanimously to end it, and the Democrats keep voting against it.”
In a recent news release, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats “will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people,” adding, “it will continue to be our position because the Republican healthcare crisis is crushing the American people.”
Services deemed “non- essential” have been closed until further notice. Services deemed “essential” will continue to work without being paid. Amongst those still working are law enforcement and national security officers, as well as those in public safety and health.
With Congress at a standstill, more is at risk to be impacted. Americans have already felt the impact of the shut down in airports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is part of the Department of Homeland Security; TSA agents are considered “essential” workers that cannot stop working even if they are not being paid. During the shutdown, many TSA workers have called in sick or just not shown up to work because they cannot continue working without an income. This has impacted wait times in the airport, from security lines to flight delays.
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation warned that certain airports around the nation may close due to the extended shutdown. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press conference that “you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it, because we don’t have the air traffic controllers.” Duffy said travelers also might see “mass flight delays” and “mass cancellations.” In a post on X, Duffy shared that on October 28 alone, 46% of flights experienced delays because of a lack of employees.
Furthermore, on November 5, Duffy said that if the government does not reopen by November 7, 10% of air traffic would be restricted in 40 airports. Flights have been delayed and cancelled. Airlines are willing to give full refunds for flights that have been cancelled due to the shutdown.
A concern for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also exists. SNAP benefits, otherwise known as food stamps, provide financial assistance to around 42 million Americans. Anticipating the sudden cut in SNAP benefits for November, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has asked to pull money from elsewhere in order to be able to partially fund November’s SNAP benefits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for SNAP, wrote to the states, asking them not to provide funds. The Trump administration warned that SNAP funding will not show up to recipients on November 1, confirmed by a message on the USDA’s website. The USDA continued to say that SNAP benefits will not be distributed for as long as the shutdown lasts.
In Illinois alone, around 2 million people rely on continuous SNAP benefits. According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois itself distributes $350 million to those who are qualifying. Illinois is one of 25 states that are suing the Trump administration in an attempt to keep SNAP funds flowing.
On October 30, 2025, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order to allocate $20 million to support food banks, who are anticipating a surge in customers and need for products.
Two federal judges from Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled that the USDA has to use the remaining $5.3 million in their emergency budget to partially cover SNAP benefits for the month of November. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said despite the ruling the funds will “unfortunately be delayed while the states get the money out.”
On November 5, the shutdown reached its 36th day, officially making it the longest in U.S. history. This surpasses the previous 35-day record set by the first Trump administration in December 2018.
On November 10, enough Democrats voted with Republicans to advance the bill. Eight Democrats voting in favor allowed the bill to continue by a margin of 60 votes to 40. Democrats did not get more money in the Affordable Care Act, only a promise that it can be voted on in the Senate. Two days later, the bill was passed in the House with a vote of 222-209. Later that same night, President Trump signed the bill in the Oval Office on camera.
After the bill was passed through all three, the government was officially reopened. However, it will take time for everything to return to normal.