Longest government shutdown in history
The federal government shutdown is tied for the longest on record as Democrats push for health care subsidies to be included in funding deals.
- The two longest government shutdowns in U.S. history occurred under President Donald Trump.
- The previous record-breaking shutdown in 2018-2019 lasted 35 days and was focused on funding construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
- President Trump’s previous statements have varied between criticizing Democrats and saying the president has the ultimate responsibility to gain public consent.
President Donald Trump held office during two of the longest government shutdowns in American history.
The current government shutdown entered its 36th day on November 5th, as Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on the expiration of health insurance subsidies, which is at the center of the debate. The Trump administration has widely blamed Democrats for the government shutdown, and Democrats say Republicans are refusing to negotiate.
The last record-breaking shutdown also occurred under President Trump’s administration. The shutdown, which lasted 35 days during the 2018 holiday season, was the third such shutdown during his first administration. Others lasted from hours to days. The shutdown broke a record set by Trump, who received the most airtime during his public remarks on Nov. 5, the anniversary of his 2024 election victory.
What did he say about the closure at the time? Here’s what we know.
How did the last shutdown end?
The longest government shutdown on record began with an impasse over President Trump’s request for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats refused to fund him, arguing that building a wall would be expensive and ineffective.
The period was 35 days from December 22, 2018, and ended on January 25, 2019. At the time, Democrats controlled the House of Representatives and Republicans controlled the Senate.
Ultimately, the White House and Congressional leaders struck a deal to reopen the government within a month. Their agreement did not include new funding for border wall construction, but called for a bipartisan conference committee to spend the next three weeks negotiating ways to secure the southern border.
Weeks later, the funding plan agreed to by Congress included only $1.375 billion for wall construction, so President Trump sought to access even more funds by declaring a national emergency.
President Trump in 2018: “I’m all alone in the White House (poor guy)”
President Trump still blamed Democrats for the 2018-2019 government shutdown, but he remained in Washington, D.C., citing concerns about the shutdown and federal workers who went without pay. This time, President Trump traveled to the Middle East, Asia, and his home in Florida.
On Christmas Eve 2018, Trump said, “I’m all alone in the White House (poor me) waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed border security,” Trump later tweeted. “At some point, the Democrats not wanting a deal will cost our country more than the border wall we’re talking about. Crazy!”
President Trump also congratulated Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi on her reelection as Speaker of the House amid the government shutdown.
According to Reuters, President Trump said at a White House press conference on January 3, 2019, “This is a tremendous accomplishment, and I hope that we can work together to accomplish infrastructure and many other things.” “I think it’ll actually work.”
President Trump has repeatedly mocked Democratic leaders in Congress over the past month, including a widely shared deepfake video from the White House that showed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero. “We’re going to make sure every employee gets their back pay promptly, or as soon as possible. That’s going to happen very soon. I’m asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take this proposal up immediately,” Trump said. President Trump said this on the day the shutdown ended in 2019.
On October 7, President Trump threatened to withhold payments, saying some employees “do not deserve” compensation. However, the Public Employees Fair Treatment Act, passed during the 2019 government shutdown, says federal employees who are furloughed while federal funding lapses “will be paid their wages for the period of lapse.” The White House claimed there was a loophole and threatened to make federal job cuts even worse during the government shutdown. After the 2019 government shutdown ended, President Trump denied he would rescind his demands.
“This is in no way a concession,” President Trump posted on social media. “The government was looking after the millions of people seriously injured by the shutdown on the understanding that if no deal was reached within 21 days it would be off to the races.”
President Trump says the president bears responsibility during Obama administration shutdown
In April 2011, after weeks of difficult negotiations, leaders of both parties reached an agreement that ultimately averted a government shutdown, as summarized by President Barack Obama. President Trump spoke about the possibility of a shutdown ahead of a deal in an interview with Meredith Vieira on NBC’s “Today” show. A recording posted on Vimeo by Roll Call Factbase shows President Trump saying:
“In my opinion, I’ve heard that Democrats will be blamed, I’ve heard that Republicans will be blamed, and I actually think the president will be blamed, too,” he said. “If there was a shutdown…I think that would be a very negative review for the president of the United States. The president is the person who has to bring people together.”
At the time, Trump was toying with a presidential bid and repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Obama’s citizenship. Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii and is a U.S. citizen.
The final shutdown occurred when Obama was president. In 2013, the government was shut down for 17 days.
Trump also spoke about how the shutdown will be remembered in a phone interview with Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” ahead of the 2013 shutdown, according to PolitiFact.
“When they talk about the government shutdown, they’re going to be talking about the president of the United States, the president at the time,” Trump said. “They’re not going to talk about who was the head of the House or the head of the Senate running things in Washington. So I really think the pressure is on the president.”
Contributions: Eliza Collins, Michael Collins, John Fritze, Joey Garrison, Zach Anderson, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky (@kinseycrowley.bsky.social).
