The government shutdown inched closer to becoming the longest in the nation’s history at 35 days, after Congress failed to pass another funding package designed to end the closure. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had told reporters Monday that he was optimistic a deal would be reached, ending a closure that’s affected federal workers and other Americans.
The clock continues to tick closer to the 35th full day as the shutdown nears the longest in the nation’s history, projected to beat a 34-day closure during President Donald Trump’s first term. The Senate failed to pass a proposed package Monday, 54 to 44, as no new Democrats crossed party lines to vote with their Republican colleagues.
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The current shutdown has been marked by allegations of Hatch Act violations, low staffing at airports, Americans seeking food stamps, staffing confusion across several departments and finger-pointing between Democrats and Republicans over who’s to blame.
Thune told reporters Monday that there were negotiations over the weekend, and he was hopeful the Senate would pass a revised stopgap measure. “Obviously, there were a lot of conversations over the weekend, and hopefully that will bring about the desired result,” Thune said, according to Politico.
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President Donald Trump has presided over the nation’s two longest shutdowns, both lasting more than 30 days.
Trump, on the other hand, has remained headstrong in refusing to negotiate with Democrats and said it’s on them to reopen the government first, then restart negotiations, according to CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”
“We should fix that,” Trump told the program. “Fix it. And we can fix it with the Democrats. All they have to do is let the country open, and we’ll fix it.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal workers, urged Congress on Monday to reopen the government. They said a number of employees have worked without pay or been furloughed since Oct. 1. AFGE President Everett Kelley took exception to the rhetoric he’s heard in Congress, which has made the shutdown a partisan fight.
“They want to pretend as if our livelihoods are nothing more than bargaining chips in a contest to see which party wins and which party loses,” Kelley said during a recent town hall. “But this isn’t a game for us.”
Past shutdowns hit around holiday season
According to the Library of Congress, there have been 20 funding gaps since 1977, when the federal fiscal year was shifted to Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Not all resulted in a shutdown as agencies remained open and operational.
“Under current practice, although a shutdown may be the result of a funding gap, the two events should be distinguished,” according to the Library of Congress. “This is because a funding gap may result in a shutdown of all affected projects or activities in some instances but not in others.”
Funding gaps in 1996, 2014, 2018 and 2019 fiscal years have halted government operations, pressuring federal workers and Americans.
Under both of Trump’s administrations, he’s presided over the longest closures, including one that lasted from December 2018 to January 2019 for 34 days. Before that, the longest was 21 days under former President Bill Clinton’s administration.
That closure, which lasted between December 1995 and January 1996, followed another brief shutdown after Congress failed to pass a funding package. About 280,000 employees in the executive branch were furloughed for 17 days.
Gaps in the 2014 and 2018 fiscal years closed the government for 16 days and two days, respectively. Each of the official shutdowns resulted in furloughs with the expectation that employees would receive back pay. Trump signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act into law in 2019, ensuring that.
This year’s shutdown puts stress on employees’ paychecks ahead of the holiday season.
“This is about real people with real families who have dedicated their lives to serving this country,” Kelley said. “It’s about an apolitical civil service that serves all Americans, already stretched to the limits, now being pushed to the breaking point –– and the damage that will cause long-term to everyone in this nation.”
