The US government has been shut down for the first time in 7 years

At midnight on October 1, the US Congress passed a funding deadline, triggering the first US government shutdown in nearly seven years — and the third under Donald Trumpʼs presidency.

Bloomberg writes about this.

In the United States, the fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. In circumstances where the budget for the current fiscal year has not been approved by Congress and signed by the president, funding for federal agencies is usually provided on the basis of resolutions to temporarily continue operations at the level of the previous fiscal year.

On the evening of September 30, the White House officially announced the imminent shutdown of the US government after the Senate failed to pass the Republican Partyʼs proposed spending bill, which was supposed to provide funding for federal agencies by November 21.

It is expected to disrupt federal services and leave many federal workers furloughed. Some federal employees could lose their jobs permanently.

Republicans and Democrats have reached an impasse on the issue of health care funding and are using this moment to influence the results of the 2026 midterm elections. Because of this, the current shutdown may be prolonged.

If the government shutdown lasts more than three weeks, the unemployment rate could rise from 4.3% to 4.7%.

President Donald Trump previously suggested that his administration would use the shutdown to carry out mass layoffs of federal employees.

• The last time the US government shut down was in December 2018, during Donald Trumpʼs first term in office, when the shutdown lasted 34 days. The US government has shut down 21 times since 1976.
• In March, the US Congress averted a government shutdown at the last minute when the Senate passed a House-passed government funding bill. But it highlighted deep divisions within the Democratic Party.

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