2025 United States federal government shutdown

2025 United States federal government shutdownDateCauseEmployees furloughed

October 1, 2025 – present (34 days)

Expiration of continuing resolution from Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025

~900,000

On October 1, 2025, the federal government of the United States began a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. EDT as a result of congressional failure to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year, which began that day. The shutdown resulted from partisan disagreements over federal spending levels, foreign aid rescissions, and health insurance subsidies.

The shutdown resulted in the furlough of roughly 900,000 federal employees and left another 2 million working without pay. While essential services such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Transportation Security Administration continued, many agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the WIC program, faced partial or full suspensions of operations.

The shutdown is the 11th government shutdown that resulted in federal employees being furloughed, the longest full government shutdown in U.S. history,^[1] and the third shutdown during a Trump presidency, after the 2018–2019 government shutdown.

Background

Government funding procedure and fiscal authority

Article One of the United States Constitution vests the U.S. Congress with the authority to appropriate funds drawn from the Treasury.^[2]: 1 Since 1977, the federal budget process has used a fiscal year that runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, with 12 individual spending bills that must be passed.^[2]: 12 Political polarization has affected this process, often forcing lawmakers to pass continuing resolutions to temporarily fund the government.^[3]

The failure of Congress to agree on funding legislation leads to a government shutdown when the previous funding term ends.^[2]: 28-29 In a government shutdown, federal agencies continue work categorized as "essential", but federal employees and contractors are furloughed and not immediately paid. The authority to determine the work that continues is vested in the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, although the President has broad authority over this process.^[4]

Earlier budget impasse

Ahead of a lapse of government funding expected to occur in March 2025, Democrats in Congress largely objected to funding the government as President Donald Trump moved to assume control of the extent of its operations, including eliminating federal funding and firing government workers. Hours before the deadline, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer announced that he would support a continuing resolution to fund the government through September, arguing that Trump's efforts were being halted in the courts—which could be impeded by a shutdown; that a shutdown would give greater authority to the Department of Government Efficiency; and that market uncertainty would mount over a shutdown in addition to imminent widespread tariffs, causing ambiguity over the responsibility of economic fear.^[5] Schumer's support incited other Democrats to vote in favor of a temporary continuing resolution proposed by Republicans, allowing the measure to pass and averting a shutdown. Schumer was criticized by several Democrats for his move, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.^[6]

Affordable Care Act subsidies

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a major reform of the United States healthcare system that, among other provisions, established income-based tax credits to subsidize the cost of health insurance.^[7] Under the ACA, eligible households were required to contribute between 2% and 9.38% of their income toward marketplace insurance premiums.^[8] Those earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level were excluded from eligibility, creating a steep welfare cliff.^[9]

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily increased and expanded the subsidies for 2021 and 2022 by eliminating the upper income cap and capping household contributions at between 0% and 8.5% of income.^[8][7] In line with the Build Back Better Plan, the Biden administration's pandemic recovery plan, Democratic lawmakers proposed bills to make the expanded tax credits permanent.^[8][10] As a compromise, the Inflation Reduction Act extended the expanded subsidies through 2025.^[11]

In 2025, Congress allowed the enhanced subsidies to expire and made additional cuts to the medical welfare system under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.^[12] Contention over these cuts became a major conflict leading to the government shutdown.^[13]

Supreme Court

On September 26, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States granted an application for stay in Department of State v. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition lifting a lower court ruling preventing Trump from withholding funds appropriated by Congress.^[14][15]

Budget discussions

Initial passages and emerging conflicts

The continuing resolution Republicans passed set a deadline through the remainder of that year's fiscal budget term, expected to conclude at the end of September. In July, Republicans approved the Trump administration's request to rescind US$9 billion allocated for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Washington senator Patty Murray, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, told The New York Times that the "partisan rescissions bill" complicated efforts for Democrats to work with Republicans on a funding bill for the next year's budget, set to begin in October. That month, senators opened debate on a series of appropriations bills, beginning with military construction projects and veterans programs. Democrats indicated that they would seek to avert a shutdown in budget discussions.^[5] In July, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said, "The appropriations process has to be less bipartisan", said the White House would not abide by bipartisan spending agreements, and reiterated that he believed the Impoundment Control Act was unconstitutional. The remarks drew condemnation from Democrats and pushback from Senate Majority Leader John Thune.^[16]

By August, Senators approved an initial set of spending bills, including US$433 billion for veterans programs, US$19.8 billion for military construction and family housing projects, US$27.1 billion for agricultural programs, and US$7.1 billion to continue the operations of Congress and legislative agencies.^[17] Although the bills passed before an anticipated recess that month for the first time since 2018, the objections mounted, indicating further resistance ahead of the deadline. Louisiana senator John Kennedy unsuccessfully sought a two percent reduction in the agriculture bill. Kennedy later called for a separate vote on the legislative branch funding bill to state his opposition to the funding level. A fourth bill that would have funded the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, and science agencies faltered after opposition from Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen. The legislative branch funding bill largely kept the Government Accountability Office's funding levels consistent, despite the agency's conflict with the Trump administration; the House of Representatives's bill halved the office's budget.^[17] In September, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed extending government funding into November or December.^[18] A continuing resolution emerged as a likely possibility to resolve the impasse, though the cession of Congress's authority to determine spending concerned several Democrats.^[19]

Impasse and deadlock

The Trump administration, along with several fiscal hawks, advocated for funding the government through January. Conversely, Democrats and some Republicans sought a deal through November to ensure additional time for a compromise. The administration's move to cancel $5 billion in foreign aid through a pocket rescission intensified the impasse. House and Senate appropriators suggested a bill to fund the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and congressional operations for a year with a short-term extension for other agencies.^[20] Representative Andy Harris, the chair of the Freedom Caucus, expressed reluctant support for a temporary bill proposed by Representative Tom Cole, the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, so long as Cole had the votes.^[21] The discussions collided with the Trump administration's request to bolster security for Supreme Court justices and increase funding for the Marshals Service after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.^[22] Lower-court judges also sought security of their own.^[23]

Democrats sought to force Republicans to extend healthcare insurance subsidies, set to expire at the end of the year.^[24] Trump publicly told Republicans not to "bother dealing with them"^[25] and to support Cole's "clean" continuing resolution;^[26] additional funding for lawmakers after Kirk's death delayed the bill's release.^[21] On September 16, Johnson released the spending bill without insurance subsidies, expecting Democrats to balk and cause a shutdown or to support a bill that retained the status quo, increasing health insurance premiums for Affordable Care Act recipients.^[27] Representatives Thomas Massie and Victoria Spartz and Senator Rand Paul, all fiscally conservative Republicans, opposed the bill over its spending additions and a narrow timeline for a larger appropriations bill.^[28]

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican, also initially opposed the bill because she believed it could not pass the Senate.^[29] Democrats opposed the bill^[30] and proposed a stiff counteroffer to increase health spending by $1 trillion.^[31] The Republican plan passed the House on September 19 but failed in the Senate, with 44 voting in favor to 48 against. John Fetterman was the only Senate Democrat to vote for the plan, while two Republicans voted against it. The same day, the Democratic plan failed in the Senate on party lines, with a vote of 47 to 45.^[32]

Schumer and Jeffries requested a meeting with Trump after the votes failed.^[33] Trump abruptly canceled the meeting, calling their demands "unserious",^[34] but met with the Democrats, joined by Johnson and Thune, in the Oval Office one day before the deadline;^[35] the meeting was Jeffries's first with Trump and Trump's first invitation of Democrats to the White House.^[35] The meeting failed to yield an agreement.

At 7:31 p.m. EDT, hours after the meeting, Trump posted a racist^[a] AI-generated video on Truth Social^[41] of Chuck Schumer (in a faux speech voice-over) denigrating immigrants and calling the Democrats "woke pieces of shit" to mock^[42] the Democratic base,^[43] with Jeffries at his side wearing a cartoonish sombrero and a handlebar mustache while the Mexican hat dance played in the background.^[b] The Republican messaging also included JD Vance averring that he believed a shutdown was imminent, with the Democrats to blame.^[49]

On September 30, 2025, hours before the shutdown began, the Senate voted again on the Democratic and Republican plans. The Democratic plan again failed on party lines (47 in favor, 53 against).^[50] All Republicans except Paul, along with Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto and John Fetterman, as well as Angus King,^[c] an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted for the Republican plan, which thus failed 51–47. Despite receiving a majority of votes in the Senate, the Republican plan failed to pass because it could not overcome a 60-vote filibuster. After the votes, the Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to execute their shutdown plans.^[51]

Presidential use of rescissions

The president of the United States historically had the power to not spend funds that had been appropriated by Congress, a process known as impoundment of appropriated funds.^[52][53] In 1974, in response to president Richard Nixon's impoundment of tens of billions of dollars, Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which eliminated this unilateral authority.^[54][55] In its place, the Impoundment Control Act allows the president to propose impoundments as a rescission bill to Congress, which must approve the rescission within 45 days.^[56][57]

Use of rescissions had been dormant since Bill Clinton's presidency,^[58] but in early 2025 Trump's Department of Government Efficiency made large cuts to appropriated parts of the federal government, including reducing foreign aid and public broadcasting.^[59] The Trump administration revived rescissions as a way to permanently codify DOGE's cuts, proposing a rescissions bill to Congress^[60] that became law on July 24 as the Rescissions Act of 2025.^[61]

Trump's use of rescissions became a major hurdle in budget negotiations: Chuck Schumer expressed a fear that anything the Democratic Party negotiated to include in a budget would be undone by rescission.^[62][63][64]

Timeline of the shutdown

This is the 21st funding gap and 11th government shutdown in modern U.S. history, the third to occur in a Trump presidency, and the first to occur since a government shutdown that lasted from December 2018 to January 2019 during the first Trump administration.^[3] Congressional activity centered on dueling Democratic and Republican proposals to end the shutdown. Until October 13, the Senate held continuous votes on the Democratic-led continuing resolution. It failed on party-line votes.^[65] This is the second longest shutdown, after the 2018–2019 shutdown.

Since the government shutdown, the Senate has continuously held votes on the House-passed continuing resolution. The votes have failed mostly along party lines. Democratic Senators Fetterman, Cortez Masto and King have broke from their party to vote for the resolution. Republican Senator Paul broke from his party to vote against the resolution.^[66][67][68]

The Republican-led House has stayed in recess during the entirety of the shutdown and has not held any votes.^[69] On October 20, 2025, house speaker Mike Johnson said the House was on 24-hour notice to return, if needed.^[70]

Date Events

Wednesday, October 1	The federal government of the United States shut down at 12:01 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025.[71][72] On October 1, during a third vote to end the shutdown, senators held preliminary negotiations on the Senate floor. They discussed shortening the length of the Republican planned continuing resolution to use that time to come to a more significant agreement. No agreement was made. Both versions failed, by votes of 55–45 and 47–53, respectively.[73] Senators of both parties called the preliminary negotiation a "productive discussion".[74]
Thursday, October 2	On October 2, furloughed nonpartisan Department of Education staff alleged that their out-of-office email replies had been manipulated to blame Democrats for the shutdown. Historically, nonpartisan staff have followed a template for out-of-office responses during government shutdowns. The manipulated responses would be considered a violation of the Hatch Act.[75]
Monday, October 6	On October 6, Trump claimed talks were underway with Democrats, which Schumer said was not true.[76]
Wednesday, October 8	On October 8, Representative Jennifer Kiggans proposed legislation to pay members of the military during the shutdown and urged House leadership to pass the bill, which has over 140 co-sponsors. Johnson told reporters that the House would not vote again because it had already approved a continuing resolution through November 21.[77]
Tuesday, October 21	President Trump and Senate Republicans met at the White House, with Trump stating that they wouldn't "be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs". Trump also told Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries he would only meet with them after the shutdown ends.[78]
Wednesday, October 22	The shutdown officially became the second longest in United States history at 22 days.[78]
Thursday, October 23	The Senate voted on Senator Ron Johnson's Shutdown Fairness Act, which would provide pay for troops and "excepted employees" during the shutdown. Senator Chris Van Hollen introduced a similar bill that would cover pay for all federal employees.[79] Johnson's bill failed in a 54-45 vote; failing to meet the 60-vote threshold to avoid a fillibuster.[80]
Saturday, October 25	President Trump announced a private donor would provide $130 million in a gift to cover pay for the US military. Critics of the move noted ethics concerns due to the Antideficiency Act. It was later reported by the New York Times that the donor was Timothy Mellon.[81][82]
Monday, October 27	US Department of Agriculture announced via its website that no SNAP benefits for November 2025 would be issued due to the shutdown.[83] The American Federation of Government Employees union issued a statement calling for Congress to pass a "clean continuing resolution", stating otherwise there would be no end to the shutdown.[84][85] House Speaker Mike Johnson argued against critics of his continued shutdown of the House, stating that House Republicans were hard at work in their districts during the House's month long shutdown.[86]
Tuesday, October 28	Vice President Vance had a closed door lunch with Senate Republicans where they discussed the shutdown and importing decisions made by President Trump. After the lunch Vance spoke to reporters blaming Democrats for the shutdown and promising that service members would be paid.[87] Over two dozen states sued the Trump administration over the status of SNAP benefits for November 2025, and in an effort to have benefits reinstated.[88]
Friday, October 31	Via Truth Social, President Trump called for Republicans to end the filibuster rule (which requires at least 60 out of 100 US Senators to approve legislation), in an effort to end the shutdown.[89] A Rhode Island federal judge ruled that the USDA must distribute SNAP benefits to recipients as soon as possible, shortly after another federal judge ruled that the withholding of the SNAP benefits were illegal in another case.[90] While speaking at a press conference, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins apologized to SNAP recipients stating "...that your government is failing you right now. That poverty is not red or blue." Shortly after she finished speaking House Speaker Mike Johnson quickly took the podium and blamed the Democratic party stating "...when she says ‘We have failed you,’ she means ‘We, the Democrats.’”.[91][92]
Sunday, November 2	While speaking on 60 Minutes President Trump stated that he "won’t be extorted" by the Democratic party and echoed congressional Republicans by stating he would only negotiate once the government reopened.[93]

Impact

On employees

World Central Kitchen serving meals to federal workers at the United States Navy Memorial plaza in Washington, D.C.

Elected officials

Adelita Grijalva was elected to represent Arizona's 7th congressional district in a special election on September 23, after the death of the previous representative, her father Raúl Grijalva. As of November 3, Grijalva has not been sworn in to the House of Representatives, and the House has not had a regular legislative session since passing a funding bill on September 19. Speaker Mike Johnson has blamed the delay on the government shutdown. He also has referenced the three-week delay in 2022 by then Speaker Nancy Pelosi in swearing in Representatives Pat Ryan and Joe Sempolinski, who were elected during Congress's annual August recess that year.^[94] On October 21, it was announced that Arizona's Attorney General Kris Mayes had sued Johnson in an effort to force him to swear Grijalva in, claiming that Johnson's delay was causing the district to be subject to taxation without representation. Johnson has waved off concerns about Grijalva being sworn in and being able to effectively do her job, although she cannot access government computer systems, use her office effectively, or access parts of the Capitol without an escort.^[95]

Furloughed workers

An estimated 900,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, and an additional 700,000 may work without pay, according to the Partnership for Public Service.^[96] The Department of Agriculture intends to lay off workers.^[97] On October 8, the Internal Revenue Service announced furloughs for 34,000 employees, about 50% of its staff.^[77]

Expected agency furloughs^[98][99] Agency Employees Planned
furloughs Percent

Environmental Protection Agency	15,166	13,432	89%
Department of Education	2,447	2,117	87%
Department of Commerce	42,984	34,711	81%
Department of Labor	12,916	9,775	76%
Department of State	26,995	16,651	62%
Department of Defense[d]	741,477	334,904	45%
Department of Health and Human Services	79,717	32,460	41%
General Services Administration	10,777	3,880	36%
Small Business Administration	6,201	1,456	23%
Department of Transportation	53,717	12,213	23%
Social Security Administration	51,825	6,197	12%
Department of Justice	115,131	12,480	11%
Office of Personnel Management	2,007	210	10%
Department of Homeland Security	271,927	14,184	5%
Department of Veterans Affairs	461,499	14,874	3%

Pay status

Members of Congress are guaranteed pay during government shutdowns due to a permanent appropriation passed in 1983, allowing their pay to not be renewed annually compared to other departments. The average member is paid an annual salary of $174,000, with the Speaker of the House earning $223,500 and both party leaders in each chambers and the president pro tempore of the Senate earning $193,400. Previous shutdowns required Congress to approve back pay for employees, but a 2019 law made it mandatory, except for contractors not included in the law.^[100]

According to a Bipartisan Policy Center review of the shutdown about 830,000 federal workers have been continuously paid during the shutdown, while over 1 million are going unpaid. Senate staffers were told on October 17, that they would not receive a paycheck on October 20 or for the rest of the shutdown, the Judicial branch also announced that they had run out of funding to cover full operations.^[101]

During an October 7 meeting with reporters, Speaker Johnson said he supported back pay for government workers. A draft memo from the Office of Management and Budget reported by Axios floated the idea of not back paying workers after the shutdown ended.^[102] An updated version of the memo suggested that either the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act had been misinterpreted or the language is deficient. The memo indicates that Congress is responsible for providing the back pay by including it in any bill passed to fund the government.^[103][104]

About two weeks into the shutdown, Business Insider reported that many federal workers and members of the military were already dipping into savings and concerned about covering basic needs and medical costs.^[105]

On military

Military personnel are still on active duty despite the shutdown but they will not receive orders from their commanders except in an emergency. Veterans' benefits and military operations are also funded, but not military and civilian workers.^[106]

Due to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which was passed after the 2018–2019 government shutdown, federal employees and military Armed Forces are ensured back pay after the shutdown ends.^[96] While speaking with reporters on October 8, Speaker Johnson said he was not open to moving forward a bill to pay troops if the shutdown continued into the next week. Without the passing of such a bill, military service members would miss a paycheck, something that has not happened during modern times.^[107]

A little over a week into the shutdown it was reported that there was an increase in military members and families relying on food pantries, as service members' spouses are usually either unemployed due to frequent relocation or also employed by the federal government. A military-based food pantry in Kansas saw a 300% increase in traffic, while the Armed Service YMCA, a military nonprofit, saw a 30% increase in food requests across all locations and a 34% increase at its Killeen, Texas location.^[108]

On October 11, Trump directed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to pay service members using funds previously earmarked for other projects. A Department of Defense official later said that $8 billion of unobligated research and development funds would be used to pay military personnel. The Director of Budget and Entitlement Policy at the Cato Institute has raised concerns about the broad reach and legality of the directive.^[109]

In mid-October, Vice President JD Vance told US Marines that Trump would do "everything he can" to ensure that military personnel continue to receive their salaries despite the shutdown.^[110] On October 24, the Pentagon announced it would accept a private $130 million donation to help pay military personnel.^[111][81] Ethics concerns were raised about the decision to accept the gift, with many indicating that the donation may have violated the Antideficiency Act which bars federal agencies from spending funds not appropriated by Congress. The New York Times also reported on October 26, that the private donor was identified as Timothy Mellon, heir of the Mellon banking family who is a long time Trump donor and who donated $50 million to Trumps super PAC during his 2024 election campaign.^[82]

On Native Americans

The federal shutdown has varied effects on Native Americans and the tribal nations. Those with casinos, oil and gas leases, or other forms of independent revenue report that they believe they can operate for several months, while others more dependent on government funding and assistance were more concerned. Others raised concerns that the Trump administration would act on prior calls by Trump and Elon Musk for the General Services Administration to terminate leases held by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other offices or terminate employees.^[112]

Shortly after the shutdown was announced, the Navajo Nation announced that essential services would continue to be offered to members.^[113] During an October 29 meeting of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, tribal representatives reported the difficulties to cover the costs of necessities such as heating, food, and education. Kerry Bird, the president of the National Indian Education Association, also raised concerns about the freeze on the Department of Education grants being frozen and that the majority of their staff had been furloughed.^[114]

Economics

The Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce are set to suspend economic data releases for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, respectively.^[115] The Office of the Trade Representative will remain open, according to the trade representative, Jamieson Greer.^[116] Ahead of the shutdown, the United States dollar and Treasury securities fell.^[117]

Concern about the shutdown and its effects on the Federal Reserve's October 29 decision about the next interest rate were voiced during the shutdown, as key reports were not being generated during the shutdown. Additional concern was also raised about the potential reduction of the annualized real gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter, as it was projected at 0.1%,^[118] although much of that could be recouped, as has happened after previous shutdowns. But if Trump fires workers, rather than temporarily putting them on furlough—or doesn't pay many of them—the impact could be more substantial.^[119] On October 6, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told reporters that each week of the shutdown could cost the U.S. economy about $15 billion.^[120]

Education

A contingency plan was created for the Department of Education, after 95% of its staffers were furloughed apart from the Federal Student Aid Office. Services such as student aid disbursements, funding for Title 1 schools and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would still continue during the shutdown. Schools receiving Impact Aid, such as schools on military bases or Native American reservations would be impacted as they are primarily funded by the federal government instead of state or local taxes.^[121] On October 11, it was reported that the Department of Education had fired nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of mass layoffs during the shutdown.^[122]

The shutdown caused confusion with college students and families who were unsure if they were able to complete the FAFSA and receive federal aid. Federal aid and the FAFSA were not impacted by the shutdown and many colleges and universities issued statements to clear up the confusion.^[123][124] Some higher education institutions and research associations issued guidance's about the shutdowns impact and potential impounding on Trumps previous mass grant cancelations and targeting institution due to policies. The National Institutes of Health stated that while many researchers were still able to draw from their funds there were caveats such as restrictive terms and conditions.^[125] Some universities paused tuition payments for students that were impacted by the shutdown, such as the more than 75,000 college and trade school students who are dependents and survivors of former military members.^[126][127]

The government shutdown affected the Head Start program, an early education program that serves children under the age of six years old. The Department of Health and Human Services stated that more than 58,600 children in 134 Head Start centers in 41 states and Puerto Rico would not receive grants on November 1, if the shutdown continued. The programs funding had already been affected as grants were mistakenly frozen by the Trump administration in January 2025.^[128]

Food stamps and school lunches

Marty Makary, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, told employees that his agency was exempt from shutdown cuts, as per Bloomberg Law.^[129]

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is expected to be paused.^[96] The WIC program served about 6.7 million participants each month during the 2024 fiscal year, which included about 41% of all infants in the United States.^[130] Funding was expected to run out after two weeks, but the USDA distributed money from the 2024 fiscal year to cover some access in some states.^[131]

USDA website notice regarding SNAP on October 27, 2025

Payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were delayed^[132] and halved.^[133] In October, states began to notify SNAP recipients that benefits would pause,^[134][135] and on October 27, the USDA announced that no benefits would be issued on November 1. (It blamed the shutdown on the Democratic Party.)^[83] On November 3, the USDA said it would send SNAP recipients half of the funds it would have otherwise sent them for November.^[133] The USDA has about $5 billion in SNAP contingency funding, or about 60% of a month in benefits according to the Center on Budgets and Policy Priorities. More than 41 million people participate in the program, with the largest age bracket in 2023 were recipients aged 18 to 59 with children accounting for about 39%. The average monthly assistance per person in 2025 was $190.59, with a household averaging $356.41.^{[130][136][137]}

During the shutdown, food bank nonprofit organizations in Washington, D.C., and nationwide, such as Stronghold Food Pantry, Feeding America, and Capital Area Food Bank, reported extended queues at food banks in the Washington, D.C. area, Virginia, and Maryland, where many federal workers live.^[138][139] After many states announced that SNAP and WIC benefits would not be issued for November, many food banks began to prepare for an influx of people set to lose the benefits.^[140][4][6] Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia announced the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) initiative to offset the loss of federal funding for SNAP.^[141]

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) which provides low-cost or free school lunches to children, provided more then 4.8 billion lunches in 2024.^[130] This program was not expected to be affected by the shutdown.^[142] However, Diane Pratt-Heavner, from the School Nutrition Association reported that some state agencies have reported that they do not have the funds to reimburse schools for providing the low-cost or free lunches. The USDA reportedly had released funding for the program in October 2025 but some states reported that they had yet to receive the funds in early October.^[143]

Resulting lawsuit

On October 28, over two dozen states including Arizona, California and Massachusetts sued the Trump administration after the announcement from the USDA that no SNAP benefits would be disbursed to recipients on November 1, 2025. The states requested that the presiding judge force the administration to maintain the benefits offered through SNAP.^[88] On October 31, it was reported that a Rhode Island federal judge John McConnell had ruled that the USDA must distribute SNAP benefits to recipients as soon as possible. McConnell referenced the $6 billion in contingency funds and that the government shutdown doesn't just cause SNAP to be removed and that there could be no greater necessity then the continuation of the program.^[90] Boston federal judge Indira Talwani gave the Trump administration the deadline of November 3, to respond to her about the status of authorizing at least partial SNAP benefits for November 2025.^[144]

Trump said lawyers in his administration are not sure the administration has the legal authority to pay for SNAP during the shutdown.^[145] On October 31, President Trump posted, "If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay." in the post he also blamed the Democratic party for the shutdown.^[145] While speaking with CNN's State of the Union, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that he was sure that the Trump administration would follow the ruling and suggested that the benefits could start up again by November 5.^[144]

Health care and insurance

The shutdown will not affect Medicare and Medicaid, though certain services, such as Medicare card procurement, may shut down.^[137] The health insurance marketplace and Food and Drug Administration drug approvals are additionally set to continue.^[146] The Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services intend to furlough much of their staff, with some retention at the Food and Drug Administration;^[146] The National Institutes of Health will retain only a quarter of its staff, preventing the agency from issuing grant peer reviews, conducting advisory council meetings, and performing basic research. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's communications operations will be affected.^[146]

The absence of an extension to insurance subsidies threatened California's health insurance marketplace, the nation's largest.^[147] On October 23, it was reported that many users of the Affordable Care Act had begun to see premium prices rise as open enrollment had begun on October 15 without any of the federal tax credits that formerly lowered consumer costs.^[148][149]

NASA

According to a September 29 shutdown plan released by NASA, 15,094 NASA civil servants have been furloughed, while 3,124 have been classified as exempted and continue working. The exempted workers include those needed for the operations of the International Space Station, those operating active satellite missions, and those working on the Artemis program. The shutdown will not affect preparations for the Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon, currently scheduled for February 2026.^[150][151]

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  Service message from NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

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National parks and capital museums

The National African American History Museum closed on October 15, 2025.

According to a September 30 contingency plan by the Department of Interior, all national parks were to be left partially open during the shutdown, but any buildings that required staffing, such as visitor centers or sites such as the Washington Monument, would be closed to the public, with only restrooms open and trash collected as normal. Park roads, lookouts, trails and open-air memorials are expected to stay open with limited emergency services available to visitors. The plan is similar to the one adopted during the 2018–2019 government shutdown.^[152][153]

Some states, such as West Virginia, have used state funding to keep their national parks open during the shutdown.^[154] In some areas, guide services are seeing an influx of business as visitors are using the service as a stand-in for park rangers and workers. Additionally, private museums are seeing a boost in visitors because national parks and museums are closed, with the Mount Vernon estate reporting a 50% increase in visitors during the first two weeks of October.^[155]

Conservationists, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the National Park Service have all issued warnings to the public to use caution or not to visit national parks during the shutdown due to concern about skeleton staffing making it difficult to assist in an emergency. Additional concern was raised about the mass layoffs shortly after Trump took office, which made many parks already short-staffed before the shutdown.^[156] Locals, furloughed workers, and local organizations have worked together during the shutdown to keep national parks clean and well kept.^[155]

Technology

Suspension of non-essential functions of the Federal Communications Commission caused product delays for devices that emit radio frequencies, impacting release of new cameras, speakers, and controllers.^[157]

Travel

The Transportation Security Administration, Amtrak, ships, and cruises continue to function despite the shutdown.^[158][159]

Air travel still functions, but air traffic controller hiring, field training of air traffic controllers, facility security inspections and law enforcement assistance support are stopped.^[106] Beginning on October 6, staffing shortages led to flight delays at various airports.^[160] On October 7, it was reported that cities such as Nashville, Dallas, Chicago, and Newark were seeing high levels of delays due to the air traffic controller shortage. The Hollywood Burbank Airport control tower was unstaffed for nearly six hours and then remotely managed due to shortages.^[161] By October 8, airport staffing shortages led to delays reported at Boston, Burbank, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington.^[160]

Kristi Noem video blaming Democrats for the shutdown

On October 15, it was reported that multiple airports were rejecting the use of a video provided by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the shutdown and the resulting impact on TSA operations. In the video, Noem says, "Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted", even though 95% of the department is required to work during the shutdown. Many airports reject the use of the video on the grounds that it violates their policies and regulations prohibiting political messaging at the airport, with some experts raising concerns about violations of the Hatch Act.^[162][163]

Mass layoffs

On September 24, the Office of Management and Budget instructed federal agency heads to prepare reduction-in-force plans to be executed if the government were to shut down, reducing the government workforce permanently instead of temporarily furloughing staff.^[164] If conducted, such layoffs could have drastic and far-reaching consequences, especially in land management and environmental agencies.^[165] Democratic Congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries called it "intimidation".^[166] One former OMB official and Congressman, James Walkinshaw, questioned whether preparing or conducting a reduction in force during a shutdown would be legal, but as the practice is unprecedented, an executive at the Partnership for Public Service could not predict how it would play out.^[167]

On September 30, Trump told reporters that he was in favor of mass layoffs, saying, "We'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected, They're going to be Democrats" and "We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want."^[168]

Impacted

On October 1, the Trump administration fired all but four members of the National Council on the Humanities.^[169] Layoff notices were issued that day for 126 workers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.^[170][171]

On October 10, over 4,100 federal workers were notified that they would be laid off. The Department of the Treasury had the most layoffs, with 1,446.^[171][172] Layoffs at the Department of Homeland Security included ones at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.^[173] Other departments affected were Commerce, Education, Energy, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.^{[171][172][173]}

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had the second-most layoffs, about 1,100. Nearly all of these were at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including many in infectious disease programs, which had been largely spared in the April 2025 HHS layoffs. Other affected programs included the Laboratory Leadership Service and CDC Library, as well as leadership from several CDC components.^[e] The Washington Office was reported to be completely closed.^[176] Some layoff notices were reversed the next day after reportedly having been in error, including the entire staff of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,^[175] recent cohorts of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, Ebola response personnel, and Global Health Center leadership.^[177] About 700 employees were reinstated to their positions on October 11.^[178]

Lawsuit

AFGE v. OMBCourtFull case nameStartedDocket nos.Prior action

Northern District of California

American Federation of Government Employees v. U.S. Office of Management and Budget

September 30, 2025

3:25-cv-08302

Motion for temporary restraining order granted[179]

Ongoing

On September 30, the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sued in the federal District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking to prevent these mass layoffs. The labor unions alleged that any mass layoffs during the shutdown would be illegal, because the staff that would carry out the firings would be prevented from working due to the Antideficiency Act.^[180]

On October 15, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued a restraining order against the Trump administration after siding with the two unions. The order is to be used to stop the government from issuing any reduction-in-force notices and her decision included instructions not to enforce any notices already sent to any of the agencies that have employees the unions represent.^[181]

On October 17, it was reported that the Trump administration had paused work on only a small number of those who were laid off to comply with Illston's order. The pause affected 465 Education Department employees, 102 Census Bureau employees, and more than 400 Department of Housing and Urban Development employees.^[182]

Responses

Notification of the government shutdown on each U.S. federal executive department's website

Republicans

Several Republican officials and organizations, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, the Senate Republican Conference, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, falsely accused Democrats of demanding free health care for undocumented immigrants. This is based on Republican claims—which independent reporters, analysts and oversight bodies have disputed or not substantiated at the scale claimed^[f]—that there has been widespread fraud in Affordable Care Act enrollment.^[189]

Representative Kevin Kiley of California was critical of the shutdown and House Speaker Johnson's continued efforts to keep the House closed, and has continued to work at the capitol in an effort to end the shutdown. Kiley told reporters that he was looking for "any and all constructive conversations" to end the shutdown, and that "Clearly, it's not working...Sometimes you have to work with people who have a different position in order to find common ground."^[190]

Trump administration

After the unsuccessful back-to-back votes, Trump told reporters that Democrats in the Senate "want to shut down the country", except John Fetterman, who voted for the Republican spending bill.^[191] After his meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Trump posted a controversial deepfake, AI-generated video of them with Schumer's audio saying that Democrats "have no voters anymore, because of our woke, trans bullshit" and "if we give all these illegal aliens health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us."^[48] In an interview with Politico's Dasha Burns, Trump called Democrats "deranged".^[192]

Before and during the shutdown, government websites and emails blamed Democrats or "the radical left" for it; actions ethics experts said were likely illegal.^[193][168] Hours before the shutdown was set to begin, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's website warned, in a pop-up and a red banner, that the "radical left" would hurt the United States,^[194][195] while the Department of Health and Human Services encouraged its employees to set out-of-office email messages blaming the Democratic Party for the shutdown;^[196] this elicited concerns that both websites were violating the Hatch Act.^{[194][195][196]} In a statement, the department said: "Employees were instructed to use out-of-office messages that reflect the truth: Democrats have shut the government down."^[197] At the Department of Education, employees' out-of-office messages were forcibly changed to political ones and they were unable to remove the partisan messaging:^[198]

Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed HR 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of HR 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.

Watchdog group Public Citizen filed a Hatch Act complaint against Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator Kelly Loeffler and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) head Scott Turner, alleging the messages constituted electioneering while on duty.^[199][197]

Trump posted that the shutdown was an "unprecedented opportunity" and that he would meet "with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut".^[200][201] During the shutdown, the administration halted billions in approved funding largely going to states that had voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, including $20 billion for public transport in New York City and Chicago.^[g]

Democrats

Democrats proposed a constant livestream to discuss the shutdown.^[207] The night before the shutdown, many politicians, including Representative Sarah McBride and Senator Andy Kim, posted on social media and told the media that their Republican counterparts were not in the Capitol to vote on the budget.^[208][209] Representative Robert Garcia said the messages placed on government agency websites blaming Democrats for the shutdown violated the Hatch Act.^[197] Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held a town hall on CNN to discuss the shutdown.^[210][211]

Former government officials

House Speaker Mike Johnson addresses the shutdown. (October 1, 2025)

In a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, over 35 former park superintendents urged the parks managed by the National Park Service to close to avoid damage by unsupervised visitors.^[212]

Public opinion

In most surveys regarding US government shutdowns, Republicans have received more blame than Democrats, though a substantial portion of survey respondents said they weren't sure.^[213]

Pre-shutdown

A poll conducted by Data for Progress from September 5 to 7 asked likely voters whom they would blame for a potential shutdown at the end of the month. 27% of respondents thought Republicans in Congress would be responsible, 32% expected to blame Trump personally, and 34% placed the blame on Democrats in Congress.^[214] Two days before the shutdown, a poll by Morning Consult indicated 45% of voters said they would blame Republicans and 32% said they would blame Democrats.^[215]

In a September 22 to 27 poll by The New York Times and Siena University, 26% of respondents blamed the Trump and Republican Party for the shutdown, compared to 19% who blamed the Democratic Party and 33% who blamed both parties.^[216] Another question asked whether Democrats should shut down the government if their demands were not met; 27% of respondents said yes and 65% no.^[217]

In a September 30 poll by NPR, 38% of respondents blamed the Republican Party for the shutdown, compared to 27% who blamed the Democratic Party, 31% who blamed both parties, and 1% who blamed neither. Another NPR poll conducted days earlier, which controlled for political affiliation, indicated that while Democrats and Republicans were more likely to blame each other for a hypothetical shutdown, independent voters were most likely to blame both.^[218]

In a poll conducted by KFF from September 23 to 29, 78% of respondents supported extending Affordable Care Act tax credits and 61% of respondents had heard little or nothing about the expiring subsidies.^[219][220]

During the shutdown

An October 1 poll from The Washington Post indicated that 47% of respondents believed that Trump and Republicans in Congress were mainly responsible for the shutdown, compared to the 30% who blamed Democrats in Congress. This was consistent with polls regarding past shutdowns in the last 30 years, including the month-long shutdown during the first Trump presidency: according to polls, public opinion blamed Republicans more than Democrats with a difference of +10% or higher for every shutdown since 1995.^[221]

An October 1–2 Harvard CAPS/Harris poll showed 65% of respondents felt the Democrats should accept a continuing resolution at current spending levels, but the same poll showed 53% of respondents blamed Republicans.^[222] An October 1–3 CBS News poll via YouGov asked a multitude of questions. 39% of respondents blamed Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, compared to the 30% who blamed Democrats and 31% who blamed both parties equally. Respondents felt that Trump, Republicans, and Democrats were handling the shutdown poorly at 52%, 52%, and 49%, respectively.^[223]

An October 2–7 Reuters/IPSOS poll found that 67% of respondents said that Republicans deserved a fair amount of the blame for the shutdown, compared to 63% who blamed Democrats. About 63% of respondents said that Trump deserved a fair amount of blame.^[224]

An October 9–13 AP-NORC poll found that nine in ten adults felt the federal shutdown was at least a "minor" problem. Democrats were more concerned, with 69% saying the shutdown was a major problem compared to 37% of Republicans. Over half the respondents, 58%, blamed the shutdown on both Trump and the Republicans, with Congressional Democrats blamed by 54%.^[225]

An October 24-28, Washington Post-ABC News-IPSOS poll indicates that more than 4 in 10 adults in the United States, or about 45% blame Trump and the GOP are majorly responsible for the shutdown. Blame for the Democrats has grown slightly from 30% when the shutdown began to 33% in the most recent poll. Of the respondents, three out of four of US adults indicated that they are "very" or "somewhat concerned" about the shutdown, of which 82% described themselves as liberal and 62% were self described as conservative.^[226]

Operational criticism

When the Trump administration rolled out spending freezes across the entire federal government, fiscal and monetary analyst Nathan Tankus commented that the freeze was "the most dramatic event ever" in the annals of constitutional law on fiscal policy in the United States, arguing that the Oval Office's pertinent executive orders essentially give the president "far greater control" over Congress's authority to spend.^[227]

He delineates the "extremely unique" [sic] legal architecture of the separation because financing authority and spending authority are distinct United States –unlike what exists in parliamentary systems whereby any legislation which authorizes a spending simultaneously authorizes the financing of that spending. In countries with a parliamentary system, the government can "fall apart" or even lose its mandate to govern if it is unable to pass its yearly budget through parliament.^[228] In the U.S., tax revenue typically goes into the general fund,^[229] an accounting fact that does not translate to the government spending any additional money. After presenting the mechanics of the disbursement system in place for realizing approved appropriations, he concludes that, in his view, while the Trump administration has been "circumspect and legalistic" regarding spending without appropriations, it has also been "brazen" in not honoring congressional orders to spend.^[228]

Notes

References

External links

• Media related to 2025 federal government shutdown in the United States at Wikimedia Commons