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Government shutdowns in the United States

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the United States, a government shutdown is a partial shutdown of some government services. It is not complete anarchy - essential services such as police remain active. The most recent shutdown started on October 1, 2025 caused by a lack of agreement on an appropriations bill for the 2026 fiscal year.

List of shutdowns

[change | change source]
Overview of shutdowns involving furloughs
Year Days Agencies affected Employees furloughed Cost to government President Congress Majority[1] Ref.
Senate House
1980 1 FTC 1,600 $700,000 Jimmy Carter 96th Democratic
(58 – 41 – 1)		 Democratic
(277 – 157 – 1)
1981 4 All (except Legislative Branch) 241,000 $80–90 million Ronald Reagan 97th Democratic
(53 – 46 – 1)		 Democratic
(242 – 192 – 1)
1984 1[a] Some 500,000 $65 million 98th Republican
(55 – 45)		 Democratic
(269 – 165 – 1)
1986 1[a] All 500,000 $62.2 million 99th Republican
(53 – 47)		 Democratic
(253 – 181 – 1)
1990 3 All 2,800 $2.57 million George H. W. Bush 101st Democratic
(55 – 45)		 Democratic
(267 – 167 – 1)
1995 (Nov) 6 Some 800,000 $400 million Bill Clinton 104th Republican
(53 – 47)		 Republican
(232 – 202 – 1)
1995–96 21 Some 284,000 Republican
(53 – 47)		 Republican
(232 – 202 – 1)
2013 16 All 800,000 $2.1 billion Barack Obama 113th Democratic
(53 – 45 – 2)		 Republican
(234 – 201)		 [2]
2018 (Jan) 3 All 692,900 Un­known Donald Trump 115th Republican
(51 – 47 – 2)		 Republican
(241 – 194)
2018–19 35 Some 380,000 $5 billion Republican
(51 – 47 – 2)		 Republican
(241 – 194)		 [3]
Republican
(50 – 47 – 2)
116th[b] Republican
(53 – 45 – 2)		 Democratic
(235 – 199)
2025 74  (ongoing) All 900,000 TBD 119th Republican
(53 – 45 – 2)		 Republican
(219 – 213)		 [4][5]
  1. 1 2 ~4 hours
  2. ↑ The first session of the 116th Congress began on January 3, 2019.
  1. ↑ "Control of House and Senate since 1900". Spokesman.com. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  2. ↑ Hicks, Josh (October 18, 2013). "How much did the shutdown cost the economy?". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  3. ↑ Kaufman, Ellie; Murphy, Paul P. (January 2, 2019). "Federal employees prepare for a long shutdown". CNN. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Live updates: US government shuts down after last-ditch Senate vote fails". BBC News. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Trump administration live updates: Government shutdown begins". NBC News. October 1, 2025. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
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