Could 2026 bring another government shutdown, after the longest shutdown ever?
The longest government shutdown in history dragged out for over 43 days this year, causing financial hardship for more than a million federal workers who went unpaid, the cutoff of food assistance for millions of those in need and widespread flight delays and cancellations for air travelers.
Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the shutdown, though all agreed it caused Americans plenty of pain.
So why is another shutdown still a possibility early in the new year?
Part of the reason is that Congress only approved funding to end the shutdown this fall through Jan. 30, 2026.
That means lawmakers will have to reach another agreement as they head into a midterm election year, with the balance of power on Capitol Hill at stake.
But the factors contributing to a shutdown go well beyond what will happen in the coming weeks.
Shutting down the government, which was once relatively rare, is now unfortunately part of the political fabric of Washington.
Why are shutdowns becoming more common?
Government shutdowns were virtually unheard of until the 1990s, though there were numerous cases of what were then considered “funding gaps” in government spending during the late 1970s, as lawmakers and presidents sparred over various issues.
But in 1980 and 1981, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued opinions that tightened the interpretation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending federal funds if they haven’t been appropriated.
His opinions became the basis for the government shutdown.
Many of the disruptions in government services in the 1980s and early 1990s only lasted a few days and were considered partial government shutdowns.
But the issue reached a whole new level in the 1995-96 shutdown involving former President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Gingrich was the first Republican speaker elected in 40 years and developed the GOP “Contract With America,” which was designed to shrink the size of government.
The spending showdown between Clinton and Gingrich led to a shutdown that lasted 21 days.
Polls indicated the shutdown politically backfired on Gingrich and Republicans, with a majority of Americans blaming the GOP for shuttering government services.
That likely contributed to a period when there were no shutdowns, until 2013, when Republicans tried to defund the Affordable Care Act.
That shutdown lasted 16 days and ironically, the latest shutdown this year again involved the ACA.
Longest shutdown in U.S. history
Maryland, Virginia and D.C. were hit hard by the shutdown this fall, which eclipsed the 2018-19 shutdown during President Donald Trump’s first term, as the longest ever.
The 2018-19 shutdown lasted 35 days and was largely over whether to provide funding for the president’s southern border wall.
Rep. Glenn Ivey is a Democrat representing Maryland’s 4th District, which includes more than 40,000 federal workers.
“We had a lot of federal government employees and federal government contractors who were negatively affected,” Ivey said of this year’s shutdown.
He said that compounded the economic pain of the elimination of thousands of federal jobs in his district earlier in the year, due the Trump administration cuts implemented through the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE.
Ivey also noted that many people in his district needed to go to food pantries that were established in Prince George’s County, after SNAP benefits were cut off.
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Shutdown ends with help from Virginia US Senator
Republicans in 1995, 2013 and 2018 were willing to use a government shutdown as political leverage to try to effect various policy changes.
This year, it was Democrats who declined to vote to fund the government, as they sought to put pressure on the president and Republicans to extend the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act that expire in January, to avert soaring health insurance premiums.
House Speaker Mike Johnson held a daily news conference at the Capitol to blast Democrats and accuse them of causing the shutdown.
“The simple truth is Democrats in Congress have dragged our country into another reckless shutdown to satisfy their left-wing base,” he said.
Many Democrats were upset earlier in the year, in March, when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer went along with Republicans and voted to avert a shutdown.
In the past, Democrats have railed against shutdowns.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., frequently called them “stupidity on steroids.”
But this time, they felt it was necessary to press for the extension of the ACA subsidies.
Ultimately, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., joined seven other Democrats in voting for funding to end the shutdown.
He did so after he said he received assurances from the Trump administration that federal workers let go during the shutdown would get their jobs back.
In Virginia, he said that totaled about 3,600 people.
“They have all been brought back to work and given back pay based on the deal I cut with the administration,” he said.
He also said he got a pledge from the administration not to fire any more federal workers through the end of the fiscal year.
As promised in talks to end the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader John Thune also allowed for a vote this month on the Democrats’ proposal to extend the ACA subsidies for three years.
But along with a Republican proposal, it failed to advance.
What can be done to prevent a shutdown in 2026?
Speaker Johnson recently pointed out with pride that Congress this year avoided a legislative showdown during the holiday season by extending funding through Jan. 30.
Johnson called it the “dreaded Christmas omnibus,” a massive piece of legislation that was often passed with plenty of December drama.
“We’ve broken that tradition and we’re not turning back,” he said.
But despite pledges throughout the year to pass all 12 federal appropriations bills, only three have passed by Congress so far.
They were supposed to be passed by Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year.
But Congress hasn’t met that deadline in nearly three decades — since 1996.
The breakdown in trust between Democrats and Republicans has caused some to worry that there could be another shutdown on Jan. 30 if spending matters and health care issues aren’t worked out.
But Kaine is hopeful that progress will be made in January, when lawmakers return.
He noted that lawmakers from both parties believe there is a group of five appropriations bills that they can get passed next.
“And that would leave four functional areas of government, where we could either find an appropriations bill or a continuing resolution for the remainder of the year,” Kaine said, referring to fiscal 2026.
Many lawmakers hope to avoid another continuing resolution, a short-term spending bill that in recent years has been used repeatedly to “kick the can down the road,” because they can’t reach major agreements.
“The fact that we’re narrowing down the work to be done between now and January 30, is frankly the best guard against a shutdown,” Kaine said.
Others have warned that if the spending package isn’t passed in January, it could set up another shutdown showdown.