KEY POINTS
- US shutdowns expose deep partisan divides in American politics.
- Failure to pass spending bills triggers govt operational paralysis.
- Non-essential services close, disrupting public life and national economy.
- Essential services continue, often without pay for federal employees.
- Since 1976, America has faced 20 funding gaps.
- 10 full or partial shutdowns occurred since modern budget process began.
- Longest shutdown lasted 35 days under previous Donald Trump’s administration.
- Border wall funding dispute caused unprecedented political deadlock in 2018.
- Shutdowns cost economy hundreds of millions daily in lost wages.
ISLAMABAD: The world’s wealthiest economy frequently comes to grinding halt in what can only be described as a constitutional stalemate—a government shutdown. This recurring crisis arises when the US Congress fails to pass the required spending bills or even a short-term stopgap measure ahead of the October 1 fiscal-year deadline.
In effect, the United States government is forced into operational paralysis, shuttering all “non-essential” functions and exposing a long-standing structural vulnerability in American politics.
Since 1980—following a pivotal legal opinion—any funding lapse now triggers an automatic, uncompromising shutdown of federal activities that lack explicit congressional authorisation.
Since the modern budget process was formally established in 1976, the US federal government has experienced 20 distinct funding gaps, which have translated into 10 full or partial government shutdowns.
This history highlights a recurring inability of US lawmakers to meet their fundamental constitutional mandate of funding federal operations.
Strict funding precedent
For the first few years after 1976, missed budget deadlines did not always trigger an immediate halt to operations. Agencies often continued to function, confident that funding would eventually be restored.
This practice was decisively ended in 1980 following a key legal opinion issued by then-Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti.
The ruling established a rigid legal precedent: under federal law, agencies are strictly forbidden from spending money without explicit Congressional authorisation.
This foundational legal shift ensured that, since 1982, any major funding gap almost invariably results in a mandatory, immediate cessation of all non-essential federal activities.
The longest standoff
The most extensive and recent demonstration of this political gridlock remains the longest government shutdown in US history, which lasted a staggering 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019.
Occurring under the administration of President Donald Trump, the closure was the result of a bitter impasse between the Republican-led executive branch and Democratic lawmakers.
The core dispute was the President’s demand for $5 billion in funding to construct a wall on the US-Mexico border, a measure strongly opposed by the opposition party.
The stalemate concluded only when President Trump agreed to temporarily reopen the government, allowing negotiations to resume.
Operational and economic fallout
The immediate consequences of a shutdown are severe, affecting hundreds of thousands of workers and vital public services. The nearly 3 million-strong federal workforce bears the direct brunt of the crisis.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees—a number that could reach up to 750,000 workers daily during a major lapse—are furloughed, or placed on mandatory unpaid leave.
Analysts estimate that the lost wages and economic drag from this workforce disruption can cost the US economy hundreds of millions of dollars every single day.
Services halted or curtailed
Non-essential services—those not immediately related to national security or public safety—are closed, impacting citizens and the economy.
This includes the closure of national parks, monuments, and federal museums to the public; the suspension of many federal research projects; delays in processing specific government benefits, grants, and applications; and disruption to key Internal Revenue Service (IRS) taxpayer services.
Services that must continue
Crucially, essential services must continue to operate, though the personnel often work without pay until the crisis is resolved.
These functions are critical for safety and security and include military service members and federal law enforcement operations; air traffic control services, which remain operational; the processing and disbursement of vital benefit programmes, including Social Security and Medicare; and the uninterrupted operations of the US Postal Service.
The stopgap solution
Historically, these crises are only resolved through a stopgap legislative measure. The typical solution is the passage of a Continuing Resolution (CR).
This resolution is a short-term spending bill designed to provide temporary funding—usually at current levels—for a few weeks or months.
Its primary purpose is to allow the government to reopen and restore services while lawmakers return to the complex, protracted negotiations necessary for a final, long-term budget agreement.
Since 1990, every single government shutdown has ultimately concluded with the passage of such a temporary measure.
