No end in sight for federal government shutdown

Ellie Rheam ’27 Sean Reagle ’27

On Wednesday, October 1, the United States Government shut down as a result of the failure of Congress to pass funding legislation for the 2026 fiscal year.

The reasons for the shutdown are complex, but mainly revolve around the policies President Donald Trump has implemented in his second term. A key point of disagreement was the expiration of key healthcare insurance tax cuts and the cutting of Medicaid funds. Congressional Democrats have insisted that they will not agree to a deal that does not extend the tax cuts and repeal the cuts to Medicaid funds. Republicans, unwilling to meet those demands, attempted to pass a continuing resolution, a way to stall a government shutdown by allotting money to areas of the federal government to keep them running until compromises have been made. Specifically, a “clean” continuing resolution was proposed, which made no policy changes from the previous year and would fund the government through November 21, 2025. The Democrats did not approve of this resolution, however, instead proposing their own that made changes to the funding of areas like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which was not passed either. Because of this lack of resolution, the shutdown has continued. 

Beyond that, Democrats feel significant apprehension at Trump’s tendencies to circumvent the authority of Congress. In a potentially unconstitutional move, he has frequently cut funds without congressional approval. After a government shutdown was averted last year due to last-minute negotiations, Trump and Republicans passed a rescissions bill to cut some of the funding that Democrats had negotiated for. The move caused significant anger among Congressional Democrats and is a key point of contention in negotiations. 

A government shutdown takes place when Congress cannot come to an agreement on funding for various agencies that need approval from legislators to spend money. Until an agreement is reached, “non-essential” parts of the government and their employees stop working, while essential areas, like law enforcement and air traffic control, continue to work but without pay. Both groups will eventually receive back pay, but for the time being, neither one is receiving a salary. As the shutdown continues, its effects are palpable for millions across the country, and Americans of all ages share frustration, confusion, and worry about what will come next.

Government shutdowns have been a part of American history since November 23, 1981, when President Ronald Reagan vetoed an appropriations bill that contained smaller spending cuts than he had proposed. That one-day shutdown suspended 241,000 employees and set the stage for over 20 shutdowns in the decades that followed. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history occurred in 2018-2019, when a budget standoff over border wall funding kept parts of the government closed for 35 days. This shutdown cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars and caused severe hardship for federal workers at the time.

Many Americans say this year’s shutdown feels different than those in the past. With inflation, political division, and economic anxiety already high, tensions are continuing to rise. David Sigel, PreK-12 Visual Art Department Chair and Teacher, described the shutdown as “familiar but frustrating.” He says, “There have been many government shutdowns in my lifetime, but unless you’ve been directly connected to subsidies or support, it didn’t truly affect most people.” 

Furthermore, many Americans are facing real financial pressure from this shutdown. With government services paused and federal workers’ paychecks delayed, families are becoming more stressed economically. Christy Rheam, Upper School physics teacher, notes that it “is expensive to live these days,” and points out that “the people who decide to shut down the government are still getting paid, while there are a lot of people who will not get paid who will more likely rely on that [money.]” She further described the financial situation as the “biggest hardship” of the shutdown, as when “people aren’t getting income that they are relying on, it is placing a lot of people into a [bad] position.” Even while back pay is typically given and expected once the government reopens, families are still left to cover bills and support themselves in the meantime, an issue that only worsens the longer the shutdown continues. 

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Shutdowns also carry a heavy economic cost in other areas of the country’s finances, not just for the workers without jobs. Each day that federal workers go unpaid and services halt, millions of dollars are lost. According to The New York Times, the 2025 shutdown could already be costing the federal government more than $300 million per day in lost productivity and delayed operations. Shaivi Vuyyuru ’27 sums up her opinion on this economic loss, saying, “The shutdown shows a failing government. If it goes on too long, we won’t have the money to pay back loans or stimulus checks.”

Younger generations, such as some Episcopal students, have likely not fully followed a shutdown firsthand, leaving many in the dark. Charlie Locke ’29 did not initially understand what a shutdown was, but now sees its significance. “It’s kind of scary,” he says. “When you want to get a job, there could be the fear that there’ll be fewer options… that could really affect people’s lives.” 

Until Congress comes to an agreement, workers and their families will have to deal with uncertainty, and the general public will have to deal with the consequences of these governmental shifts. Knowing that all political parties will have to work together and negotiate to stop the shutdown, the future is still up in the air, and the country may be dealing in this situation for the foreseeable future. Arjun Kulkarni ’27 echoes this sentiment, saying, “[Solving the shutdown] needs to be bipartisan, [the parties] need to compromise. They have done it in the past; I don’t see why they can’t do it again.”