As the federal government’s partial shutdown enters its 16th day without a budget deal, the nation’s 22nd shutdown is on track to break records. The shutdown began just after midnight on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a new budget, marking the fourth shutdown during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Over the last five decades, every president except George W. Bush and Joe Biden has weathered at least a few-day shutdown. During their tenures, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama all experienced shutdowns lasting more than two weeks.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana warned that “We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history unless Democrats drop their partisan demands.”
The longest previous shutdown lasted 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, during Trump’s first term.
As the ongoing shutdown reaches a new record, here’s what to know about previous shutdown records.
U.S. government shutdowns: See timeline of 22 shutdowns over nearly 50 years
Friday, Oct 17: Day 17
On Friday, Oct. 17, the ongoing shutdown would tie with the 2013 shutdown, the fourth-longest in U.S. history at 17 days. The 2013 shutdown took place between Oct. 1 and Oct. 17 under President Barack Obama and was tied to divisions over the Affordable Care Act, which the Republicans tried to repeal.
Monday, Oct. 20: Day 20
If the government doesn’t reopen by Monday, Oct. 20, the ongoing shutdown would become the third-longest in history, surpassing the 1978 shutdown under President Jimmy Carter.
The shutdown that began on Sept. 30, 1978 lasted 19 days until Oct. 18, 1978 during Carter’s second year as president, according to TIME. It happened due to several reasons, including disagreements over funding for abortion and a defense spending bill that included funding for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Wednesday, Oct 22: Day 22
On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the ongoing shutdown would become the second-longest government shutdown, surpassing the 1995-1996 shutdown, which was triggered by a budgetary standoff between House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton. It lasted 21 days from Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996.Wed, Nov. 5: Day 36
If the government remains shut down until Nov. 5, it will mark the longest-ever shutdown in U.S. history.
So far, the longest ever shutdown, lasting 35 days, occurred during Trump’s first term and was the third shutdown under his tenure. It started on Dec. 22, 2018 after Trump demanded $5.7 billion to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border and continued until Jan. 25, 2019 during which Democrats flatly refused to negotiate on border wall funding until the government reopened, USA TODAY previously reported.
That standoff stretched for 35 days, leading to the furlough of more than 350,000 federal workers and forcing 400,000 others to work without pay. Some food-safety inspections were temporarily suspended, trash piled up in national parks, federal landmarks and museums closed, and some airports shuttered checkpoints due to fewer Transportation Security Administration officers to screen passengers.The shutdown ended only after Trump backed a bipartisan bill that contained none of the border wall funding he had demanded.
Contributing: USA TODAY’s Zac Anderson, Joey Garrison, Bart Jansen, Sudiksha Kochi, Terry Moseley, Zachary Schermele and Sarah D. Wire
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.