Why Trump’s America is seeing a shutdown: Daily cost $400 million, thousands of staff on furlough

The US government shut down much of its operations on Wednesday after a last-ditch effort to get a funding deal through the Senate failed, bringing the system to a grinding halt.

A sign indicating that the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is closed due to the government shutdown, on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Getty Images via AFP)

The deep partisan divisions have prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long, gruelling standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs.

The previous government shutdown happened in 2018, also under US President Donald Trump during his first presidential term.

There was no clear path out of the impasse, while agencies warned that the 15th government shutdown since 1981 would halt the release of a closely watched September employment report, slow air travel, suspend scientific research, withhold pay from US troops and lead to the furlough of 750,000 federal workers at a daily cost of $400 million.
Important services, such as immigration enforcement, will continue, but other functions, including education, environmental preservation, and public outreach programs, will be slowed down or halted altogether.

Trump, whose campaign to radically reshape the federal government is already on track to eliminate some 300,000 workers by December, warned congressional Democrats that a shutdown could lead to more job cuts.
Both sides were posturing to blame the other and seeking an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

Why is the US government shut down?

Democrats do not have much power because Donald Trump’s Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. But Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes to pass any spending bill out of the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to advance most legislation in the 100-seat chamber.

Democrats are using that leverage to push for continuing and expanding healthcare subsidies for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act. So far, they have refused to back a government spending bill that does not address the issue.
Republicans say they are open to considering a fix for the expiring ACA tax breaks. But they say the issue should be handled separately. They are backing a straightforward stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through November 21. It does not include any changes to ACA subsidies.