The United States enters a government shutdown
Functions of some government agencies and operations are on halt until lawmakers agree to a new government spending bill, and the U.S. government re-opens.
Photo courtesy of Ricky Esquivel/Pexels
On Oct. 1, 2025 at 12:01am, the U.S. federal government shut down. Congressmen and women, both Republicans and Democrats, failed to agree on a new government spending bill for Fiscal Year 2026. Each fiscal year, which is a year-long accounting period used for purposes such as tax reporting and creating a revenue cycle, ends on Sept. 30 so a new government spending budget must be agreed upon before that date. Government agencies cannot spend any money, and therefore cannot operate without an agreed-upon budget. Without a budget, some government workers–those deemed to be non-essential–will be forced to work without pay until the government re-opens, which can only happen when Congress agrees on a spending plan.
While AP News states that “It’s up to each federal agency to designate which of its employees are ‘essential,’” NPR estimates that “several hundred thousand federal employees and active-duty service members will work without pay”. The president of the United States and congress members still get paid during government shutdowns, as do workers including those in the postal service and air traffic control staff. However, many necessary workers do not get paid while the government is shut down, limiting their incentive to come to work. United States Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, said that there is already a shortage of air traffic controllers, which could lead to delays for travelers.
Currently, the largest issue separating Democrats and Republicans from agreeing upon a government budget is federal funding towards healthcare. President Trump’s recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2026, as published from the Executive Office of the President and the Office of Management and Budget on whitehouse.gov, proposes ending “duplicative, DEI, or simply unnecessary programs, including: the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion; National Center for Environmental Health; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; the Global Health Center; [and] Public Health Preparedness and Response,” as well as cutting the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s budget by 17%, or about $1.2 million, according to the National Library of Medicine.
KFF, a large “health policy organization,” leading “policy research, polling, and journalism,” according to their official website, estimates a 15% cut to Medicaid under President Trump’s proposed budget. Medicaid is a joint program between the federal government and states; it is federally funded, but administered where needed by states. It is intended to help vulnerable groups of people, such as elderly, pregnant, or low-income adults get access to healthcare. Now, their website displays a message on its home page stating, “Due to the government shutdown, updates to information on this page may be limited or delayed”.
Republicans in Congress have introduced a spending bill that, if agreed upon, would reopen the government temporarily until Nov. 21, 2025 , in hopes that the government can reopen, and stay open, as both Democrats and Republicans come to an agreement on a spending bill for Fiscal Year 2026, as detailed by Politico. Only three Democrats voted in favor of the bill—not enough to meet the threshold needed to pass. This is the fifth time this stopgap bill has failed,according to Politico.
Democrats have introduced their own stopgap bill to temporarily reopen the government; that too, has not received enough votes to pass. The Democrats’ bill proposes a “permanent extension of soon-to-expire Affordable Care Act subsidies,” according to Politico. These subsidies were established by the Affordable Care Act, which went into effect under the 2014 presidential administration under former President Barack Obama, as part of its mission to increase access to quality healthcare and affordable health insurance.
“We’re ready to work with Republicans to reopen the government and end the health care crisis that faces tens of millions of Americans. But it takes two sides to have a negotiation,” said Democrat Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer. Republican Senate majority leader, John Thune, countered, saying that he is open to negotiating healthcare access once the government has reopened.