The current halt could soon become the longest that has left workers out of pocket, beating Bill Clinton’s battle with Newt Gingrich

'None of this is fair to you': the five worst US government shutdowns

The US government is about to conclude its third week of a partial shutdown, with 800,000 federal employees sent home or working without pay.

Government shutdowns occur when Congress refuses to pass, or the president refuses to sign, a spending bill, cutting off funding to federal departments, like the FBI and parks services.

Since 1976, when new budget laws giving Congress more power were enacted, there have been more than 20 gaps in budget funding, though not all of them have led to federal employees being furloughed (meaning sent home on unpaid leave, or working without pay). One shutdown in 1978 under President Jimmy Carter lasted 18 days after Carter vetoed a bill that included funding for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but federal employees continued to work and be paid.

What is a national emergency – and could Trump use one to build his wall? Read more

Most shutdowns have lasted just days – Ronald Reagan’s administration faced eight shutdowns lasting less than four days, three of which led to employees being furloughed. Here are the five longest shutdowns in US history that left staff without pay.

1. 21 days – Bill Clinton, 1995-1996

If Trump’s shutdown continues through the weekend it will become the longest in US history, beating one held during Bill Clinton’s presidency that lasted 21 days. The 1995-1996 shutdown occurred when the president vetoed the budget passed by a Congress led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, which sought to rein in spending on health and education, amongst other things.

The shutdown ran from 16 December, 1995 to 6 January, 1996 and followed an earlier, related shutdown.

Eventually, after concessions on both sides, the shutdown was resolved and Clinton’s approval ratings shot up.

2. 20 days – Donald Trump, 2018-2019

Trump’s shutdown began on 22 December and has been caused by a standoff between the president, who is demanding $5.6bn for his border wall, and Congress, which is refusing to sign off on spending bills giving him that money.

As a result of the shutdown, 800,000 federal employees have been sent home or are working without pay and Friday will be the first day that many employees will miss their paychecks.

Trump used a televised address to argue for the need for a wall to increase border security and has told reporters that while he would prefer to work with Congress on a deal, he would use his emergency powers to circumvent Congress if it could not come to agreement.

“I have the absolute right to declare a national emergency,” Trump said on Thursday, contradicting legal scholars who have questioned the president’s right to take such action in this case.

3. 16 days – Barack Obama, 2013

This shutdown (1-17 October) was caused when House Republicans offered continuing resolutions aimed at delaying or defunding the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. At the time, Obama wrote a letter to the “dedicated and hard-working employees of the United States government” in which he apologised for the disruption to their work, writing: “None of this is fair to you.”

4. Five days – Bill Clinton, 1995

This shutdown, lasting 14-19 November, was the first of two related shutdowns, the second of which lasted 21 days. In this initial five-day shutdown, 800,000 workers were furloughed.

Monica Lewinsky testified that it was during this November shutdown, when many paid employees had been sent home, that she and Clinton began their sexual relationship.

5. Three days – Donald Trump, 2018

Like the current shutdown, the first shutdown of 2018 was on the subject of immigration. The shutdown began at midnight on 20 January after Republicans and Democrats could not agree on protective measures for people under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program. Almost 700,000 federal employees were believed to have been furloughed during the shutdown.