Government Shutdowns

A shutdown occurs when appropriations for some or all agencies expire without new funding. For most of American history a funding gap meant little, because agencies kept operating on the assumption that Congress would eventually pay. That changed in 1980 and 1981, when Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued opinions concluding that the Antideficiency Act forbids agencies to continue most operations without an appropriation. Since then a lapse has meant a real shutdown.

During a shutdown, agencies must stop all activities except those that protect life and property, are funded by other sources such as fees, or are needed to carry out the government's constitutional duties. Employees doing essential work, including the military, air traffic controllers, airport screeners, border agents, and federal law enforcement, keep working without pay. Others are furloughed. Social Security checks and Medicare continue because they rest on permanent appropriations, but national parks, museums, many permits, inspections, loans, and grants stop. Since a 2019 law, furloughed and working employees are guaranteed back pay once funding resumes.

Shutdowns have grown longer and more frequent as parties use funding deadlines as leverage. The 1995 to 1996 shutdown lasted 21 days, the 2013 shutdown over the Affordable Care Act 16 days, and the partial shutdown of December 2018 to January 2019 over border wall funding 35 days. A shutdown that began on October 1, 2025, over health insurance subsidies and spending levels lasted 43 days, the longest in history, and was ended by a continuing resolution in November. A second, brief lapse ran from January 31 to February 3, 2026, and the Department of Homeland Security went unfunded for 76 days, from February 14 to April 30, 2026, the longest shutdown of a single department. Economists estimate that each long shutdown costs the economy billions of dollars that are never recovered.