The U.S. government shutdown tied the prior record on Tuesday and is on pace to become the longest in history on Wednesday at 36 days, a stark marker of national dysfunction and a presidency defined by confrontation over compromise.

The closure began on October 1, after Republicans failed to reach 60 Senate votes for a spending plan and President Donald Trump insisted he “won’t be extorted” into negotiating over expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits and Medicaid cuts while the government remains closed.

The human toll is mounting. About 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay, with air traffic controllers and TSA agents missing another paycheck as flight delays worsen.

Forty-two million Americans who depend on SNAP—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that helps low-income families put food on the table—now face reduced November benefits, as a dispute over $8 billion in funding forced emergency court intervention and underscored the fragility of essential services.

This standoff echoes the 2018–2019 closure during Trump’s first term, but with broader consequences: schools and food banks absorbing unmet needs; families bracing for higher premiums; public confidence eroding. 

Senate leaders keep staging doomed votes while a small bipartisan group reports “progress.” For now, the country waits—its institutions stalled and its people bearing the costs.