October 1st, 2025, was the start of the longest U.S government shutdown in history. The government shutdown has impacted many individuals whether from lack of income or from being laid off. 

What happens when the government is at a halt? Government workers do not get paid and many federal agencies shut down. So, here’s what we know happened when it shut down and when the Democrats came to a compromise.

The last government shutdown lasted thirty-five days during President Trump’s first term. They lost billions of dollars within the government. 

The government shutdown of 2018-2019 only affected some American agencies whereas the government shutdown of 2025 affected a far larger number of agencies, though “essential” services still continued to operate.

The government could not operate when Republicans and Democrats would not agree on the budget to be passed. Republicans control two chambers of congress but because the Democrats had an upper hand due to the minus sixty votes; they had a negotiating power.

The negotiating power was that since they were not making a vote that the Republicans needed to be able to hold their stance and ground.  Due to the nature of the bill not allowing for better healthcare, many Democrats would not agree with the Republicans. They wanted more tax credits to be put out so that healthcare would be cheaper for millions of Americans. 

The bill [included] “government funding at current levels through January. Three year-long provisions, which fund programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the USDA and FDA, and legislative branch operations are also included” (The Guardian).

The government shutdown ended as of November 12th, 2025. The vote for the end of the government shutdown was 222 for yes and 209 for no. The democrats and republicans had to agree to end the shutdown because of the length and the people affected. Some had to disagree due to the healthcare crisis not being acknowledged. Now for the government being opened there are still active questions about why it shut down in the first place.

The shut down occurred because there were not enough votes for a bill to be passed and that being said now that a bill has been passed to allow for more benefits to last including SNAP, many programs are funded only temporarily and will require further congressional action to remain active. “Millions of low-income families will also lose access to Medicaid in the next few years, when stricter work requirements and other changes for that program kick in. Republicans’ tax and spending law has made certain legal immigrants, including refugees, ineligible for Affordable Care Act subsidies” (Politico). These changes are not immediate and depend on future implementation and legislation, but they remain major concerns raised by policy analysts.

The Republicans and Democrats insisted that their government be reopened and that the other policies be put on the backburner. The Republicans denied that the Democrats should be even thinking about the healthcare crisis.

Unfortunately, because of the government shutdown many jobs have been lost. Many federal employees were laid off. However, the final funding bill rescinded many layoff notices and required back pay for furloughed workers, reducing the number of permanent job losses.

As the shutdown comes to an end, we need to be aware of what is going on in our country, be aware of what bills are being passed so that we can help our communities grow stronger.