As of October 1st, 2025, the United States government has shut down. Funding has been cut off because of a disagreement on a spending bill between Democrats and Republicans: whether or not health insurance and subsidies should be included in government spending. A bill passed in the House but failed to gain ratification in the Senate, where the 53 Republican Senators lacked sufficient support from Democrats to secure its passage.

This shutdown is not the first time the government hasn’t been able to agree on funding plans. The last time this occurred was in 2018, with a shutdown for about 35 days from December through January, caused by disagreements over funding to build a wall on the U.S./Mexico border. It was finally resolved when air traffic controllers began calling in sick, causing issues with transportation. This increased pressure on Congress and Trump, so they agreed to a temporary spending deal (without funding for the wall) to reopen the government. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this shutdown caused a permanent loss of $3B. So far, this has been the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. 

On the other hand, the current shutdown is likely to last until at least Friday, October 3rd, because the Senate will be out of session on October 2nd in observation of Yom Kippur. In the meantime, all non-essential government work will be paused. Many federal employees will be placed on temporary unpaid leave and will be compensated for the work they missed after the shutdown. Some essential work will still be done, though workers will not be paid until the government reopens. For example, there will be no closures on mail, TSA, border protection, ICE agents, or Social Security. However, many government-funded agencies are likely to see staff shortages and pause a lot of work. It is estimated that about 40% of federal workers will be on unpaid leave. Additionally, Trump plans to fire federal workers in a continuation of his plan to cut government spending. 

It is unclear when the government shutdown will end. The parties will have to compromise and somehow reach an agreement on a spending bill, but it seems unclear when, with both parties blaming each other for the shutdown.