Midnight, October 1st, 2025, the United States Government shut down. This left many Americans wondering, what does this mean? How will it affect me? And how did this happen? At this impasse it is vitally important to take time to understand our situation and look for a solution.
A government shutdown is when there is not enough money available in the budget to keep the federal government running therefore the government temporarily terminate all non-essential programs. Put another way, the federal government ran out of money. Most departments shut down and only programs or departments that deal with the safety of human life or the protection of property keep running. This is generally caused when neither party can agree to pass funding legislation to finance the government.
So why did the current shutdown happen? In major part it is because Democrats and Republicans’ bitter difference when it comes to funding healthcare. Republicans want to pass a bill that Democrats say will make getting healthcare more expensive and harder on everyday Americans. Democrats call for tax cuts that they claim will make health insurance more affordable under “Obama Care” but Republicans say the system is working. Neither party was able to agree upon where to put the funding, hence the government shutdown. So how does a government shutdown impact the country?
Approximately 750,000 government employees will be put on unpaid leave or fired outright and essentially be left on their own to find new jobs. Air traffic control employees are expected to stay at work, but without pay. The Department of Transportation even said they would not be hiring until the shutdown ends. In response to this the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATC) said “shutdowns reduce the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System and erode the layers of safety that allow the flying public to arrive safely and on-time to their destinations.” Moving to the general public, many everyday programs will be disrupted as there will be delays for getting passports, applying for business loans and government benefits like student loans. National Parks have pledged to stay partly open however they have stated that emergency services will decrease drastically. Healthcare will be decimated as The Department of Health and Human Services (DHH) states that almost half of its workers are at risk of being furloughed. This will stop research contracts and National Institutes of Health will not admit new patients to their hospital unless medically necessary. Further affecting healthcare, the CDC will be limited in its ability to provide local health departments with information about the latest disease outbreaks as well as limited in its ability to predict and stop new pandemics. It is undeniable that whether Democrat or Republican, government shutdowns severely hinder the country’s ability to function and must be resolved as quickly as possible.
The last shutdown (under the first Trump administration) lasted 35 days. Unfortunately there is no end in sight for the current shutdown and it is possible it may even go longer than the last one. Until resolution the country will face staggering limitations and Americans can only hope that the end will come fast.
