The Longest Government Shutdown in American History

The longest government shutdown in United States history occurred between December 22, 2018, and January 25, 2019. It was the byproduct of a dispute over border wall funding, a central issue of President Donald Trump's administration.

The president demanded more than $5 billion to fund the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border — a promise he'd made to his supporters while campaigning for the White House.

House Democrats, led by the speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democrats, however, refused to approve the necessary funding bills. This stalemate led to a funding gap that affected approximately 800,000 federal workers and multiple federal agencies.

The shutdown ended after 35 days, when President Trump agreed to reopen the government for three weeks to allow for negotiations on border wall funding. On February 15 the shutdown would have resumed, but the president announced he had signed a spending bill that allowed the federal government to remain open.

The bill included $1.4 billion for border fencing; however, this funding was well below the $5.7 billion President Trump wanted. This led the president to declare a national emergency in an attempt to bypass Congress and access funds for the border wall, a move that was fraught with legal challenges (such as lawsuits from states over potentially lost federal funds) and ignited a national debate.

Ultimately, the 2018-2019 shutdown had widespread effects, halting many government operations and services across the country. This had negative consequences for federal employees, the American public, Native Americans and members of the Coast Guard.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the shutdown cost the federal government at least $5 billion. This includes $3 billion in back pay to all the furloughed workers and $2 billion in lost tax revenue (since the Internal Revenue Service was not able to conduct all of its usual compliance checks).

There were 800,000 impacted federal employees. Of these, 420,000 were essential workers who had to keep working without pay during the shutdown. The other 380,000 were furloughed, meaning they were sent home without pay.

Federal government agencies affected included the U.S. departments of State, the Treasury, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, Homeland Security and others. Suddenly the livelihoods of individuals working for such agencies as the FBI, NASA, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and National Park Service, among others, were thrown into uncertainty.

Some federal government workers took to social media to vent their financial difficulties as a result of the shutdown, including their struggles to pay rent or mortgages, and to afford food, medicine, transportation and utilities.

The government shutdown impacted American citizens in numerous ways. For example, Social Security checks were delayed, marriage licensing services were temporarily suspended, and air travel experienced significant delays and heightened risks.

The Food and Drug Administration had to temporarily halt certain food safety inspections. Schools that relied on federally funded lunches had to limit food amounts or food options for students during the shutdown. And food banks reported higher numbers.

Additionally, the shutdown affected many Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and TSA employees, meaning airports suffered staffing shortages. This had an effect on air traffic control and aircraft safety inspections.

The unions representing American pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers issued a joint statement that said, "... We cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break."

Public opinion turned increasingly negative as the shutdown dragged on, and the Congressional Budget Office determined after the fact that the shutdown had cost the American economy $11 billion, with $3 billion of that being a permanent loss.

In particular, Native American tribes suffered from a lack of resources. Longstanding treaties between the tribes and the U.S. government promise federal funding, which the tribes rely on heavily to sustain their schools, health clinics, roads and land maintenance, food services and other infrastructure.

For example, the Chippewa Indians lost $100,000 per day in federal funds for their health clinics, food pantries and other services. Meanwhile, the Navajo Nation were homebound after heavy snowfall since normally federal monies funded the plowing of roads.

Additionally, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was completely closed. And the government did not cut any Native Americans checks for the oil and natural gas sales from their tribal lands — another obligation under the treaties.

Some national parks and monuments closed entirely, such as the Petrified Forest, Bandelier National Monument and Alcatraz Island. Others remained officially open but were unstaffed, and all buildings were closed, including restrooms. Any members of the public who visited did so at their own risk.

At least three people died in national parks during the shutdown, causing the American public to question the federal government's decision to keep the parks open despite a lack of staff.

In one situation, a death in Yosemite went unreported for a week. While Yosemite normally maintains about 450 National Park Service employees during the winter, there may have been closer to just 50 NPS employees working.

In some cases, visitors damaged park resources or natural elements. For example, in Joshua Tree National Park, people cut down some of the protected trees. Additionally, trash and human waste started piling up in the parks, with the effects being hazardous for the people, animals, water sources and plants alike. Experts estimated it could take the parks years to recover.

The FBI reported that the shutdown was compromising investigations, thanks to a lack of funds to pay confidential informants or bilingual staff. The Pentagon's annual budget was finalized a month later than usual. And the Department of Homeland Security, which suffered staffing and funding shortages, detected multiple Domain Name System (DNS) attacks on government websites.

The Coast Guard, being a division of the Department of Homeland Security, was the only military branch impacted. (The other branches of the U.S. military receive funding through the Department of Defense.) While the Coast Guard continued to carry out its normal patrols, its workers did so without pay. The Coast Guard Academy temporarily lost funding.

Government shutdowns are not a new phenomenon. You can trace the roots of modern shutdowns back to the 1980s, particularly during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Before that, funding gaps did not necessarily result in a complete halt of government operations.

The shift occurred after Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued two opinions in 1980 and 1981, clarifying that under the Antideficiency Act, federal agencies could not continue operating during a funding gap unless they involved activities that protected human life or property.

This reinterpretation led to a new era of partial government shutdowns, where certain federal operations ceased due to a lack of congressional approval for spending.

The power struggle between Congress and the executive branch is a recurring theme in the history of government shutdowns. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse, meaning it must approve government spending.

However, when different parties control the White House and Congress, as has often been the case, disagreements over spending priorities can lead to funding gaps and shutdowns.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders have faced similar challenges in more recent times, where divisions within and between the parties can lead to standoffs over government funding bills.

You can view these shutdowns as a reflection of broader political dynamics, including public opinion, media coverage and the strategic calculations of lawmakers.

While the 2018-2019 shutdown holds the record for the longest shutdown, other notable government shutdowns have also left their mark on American history.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.