nov 5, 2025 - The Longest Government Shutdown

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The ongoing government shutdown entered its 36th full day on Wednesday, which officially makes it the longest in U.S. history.

It takes the title from the most recent shutdown, which stretched from December 2018 to January 2019 during the first Trump administration.

A stop sign stands in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

That impasse started with Democrats' refusal to fund President Trump's southern border wall. It ended — 35 days and an estimated $3 billion in lost GDP later — after a series of escalating disruptions, including to air travel, put pressure on Trump and Republicans in Congress to reach a compromise.

This time around, the government shuttered on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to break a stalemate over funding negotiations. More than a month later, an end to the stalemate appears nowhere in sight.

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