2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown
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The United States federal government shutdown from midnight EST on December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019 (35 days) was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history[1][2] and the second[a] and final federal government shutdown involving furloughs during the first presidency of Donald Trump. It occurred when the 115th Congress and Trump could not agree on an appropriations bill to fund the operations of the federal government for the 2019 fiscal year, or a temporary continuing resolution that would extend the deadline for passing a bill. The Antideficiency Act prohibits federal departments or agencies from conducting non-essential operations without appropriations legislation in place. As a result, nine executive departments with around 800,000 employees had to shut down partially or in full, affecting about one-fourth of government activities and causing employees to be furloughed or required to work without being paid.[3] The Congressional Budget Office estimated the shutdown cost the American economy at least $11 billion USD, excluding indirect costs that were difficult to quantify.[4]
The shutdown stemmed from an impasse over Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a U.S.–Mexico border wall.[5][6][7] In December 2018, the Senate unanimously passed an appropriations bill without wall funding, and the bill appeared likely to be approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Trump. After Trump faced heavy criticism from some right-wing media outlets and pundits for appearing to back down on his campaign promise to "build the wall", he announced that he would not sign any appropriations bill that did not fund its construction. As a result, the House passed a stopgap bill with funding for the wall, but it was blocked in the Senate by the threat of a Democratic filibuster.[8]
In January 2019, representatives elected in the November 2018 election took office, giving the Democrats a majority in the House. The House immediately voted to approve the appropriations bill that had previously passed the Senate unanimously (which included no funding for the wall). For several weeks, Trump continued to maintain that he would veto any bill that did not fund an entire border wall, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the Senate from considering any appropriations legislation that Trump would not support, including the bill that had previously passed.[9][10] Democrats and some Republicans opposed the shutdown and passed multiple bills to reopen the government, arguing that the government shutdown amounted to taking civil servants "hostage" and that negotiations could only begin once the government was reopened.[11][12][13][14]
On January 25, 2019, Trump agreed to endorse a stopgap bill to reopen the government for three weeks up until February 15 to allow for negotiations to take place to approve an appropriations bill that both parties could agree on.[15] However, Trump reiterated his demand for the border wall funding and said that he would shut down the government again or declare a national emergency and use military funding to build the wall if Congress did not appropriate the funds by February 15.[15][16]
Trump's approval rating dropped during the shutdown.[17][18] A majority of Americans opposed exploitation of the shutdown as a negotiating strategy and held Trump responsible for the shutdown: A CBS News poll found that 71% of Americans considered the border wall "not worth the shutdown"[19] and a Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 53% of Americans blamed Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 34% who blamed Democrats and 10% who blamed both parties.[20]
On February 15, 2019, Trump declared a national emergency to fund the wall and bypass Congress, after being unsatisfied with a bipartisan border bill that had passed the House and the Senate a day before.[21]
- ^ Pramuk, Jacob (January 25, 2019). "Trump signs bill to reopen government and end shutdown". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ Gates, Guilbert; Zaveri, Mihir; Zraick, Karen (January 9, 2019). "This Government Shutdown Is One of the Longest Ever". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ Wamsley, Laurel (January 9, 2019). "How Is The Shutdown Affecting America? Let Us Count The Ways". NPR. Archived from the original on January 18, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
- ^ Mui, Ylan (January 28, 2019). "Government shutdown cost the economy $11 billion: CBO". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ Hirschfeld Davis, Julie; Tackett, Michael (January 2, 2019). "Trump and Democrats Dig In After Talks to Reopen Government Go Nowhere". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- ^ Paletta, Damian; Werner, Erica (January 2, 2019). "Trump falsely claims Mexico is paying for wall, demands taxpayer money for wall in meeting with Democrats". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- ^ Liptak, Kevin (January 4, 2019). "Trump says he could keep shutdown going for months or years". CNN. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Werner, Erica; Paletta, Damian; Kim, Seung Min (January 3, 2019). "House Democrats vote to reopen government and deny Trump wall money, defying veto threat". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ Barrett, Ted; Foran, Clare (January 10, 2019). "Mitch McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to reopen government". CNN. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ Chait, Jonathan (January 23, 2018). "If Trump Gets a Ransom to End the Shutdown, He'll Do It Again and Again". New York. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (January 23, 2019). "House Democrats Increase Border Offer to $5.7 Billion, if Government Opens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ Watkins, Eli (January 20, 2019). "Democrats reiterate demand: Reopen the government before negotiations on border security". CNN. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ Savage, Charlie (January 7, 2019). "National Emergency Powers and Trump's Border Wall, Explained". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Kheel, Rebecca; Mitchell, Ellen (January 25, 2019). "Overnight Defense: Trump agrees to reopen government without wall funding | Senate approves stopgap spending measure | Dems ask Armed Services chair to block military funding for wall". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Fandos, Nicholas; Baker, Peter (January 25, 2019). "Trump Agrees to Reopen Government for 3 Weeks in Surprise Retreat From Wall". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Bacon, Perry Jr (January 25, 2019). "Why Trump Blinked". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- ^ Peoples, Steve; Swanson, Emily (January 23, 2019). "Trump's approval rating sinks in new poll as he gets most of blame for shutdown". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ Salvanto, Anthony; De Pinto, Jennifer; Backus, Fred; Khanna, Kabir (January 23, 2019). "Pelosi has edge over Trump on budget negotiations, CBS News poll shows". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ Axelrod, Tal (January 25, 2019). "Poll: Majority of Americans hold Trump and Republicans responsible for shutdown". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Baker, Peter; Cochrane, Emily; Haberman, Maggie (February 14, 2019). "Trump Plans National Emergency to Build Border Wall as Congress Passes Spending Bill". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
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