On Tuesday, September 30th, 2025, newspapers across the country displayed the same ominous sight: a countdown clock. Unlike most countdowns, this wasn’t marking the seconds until a new music album released, but rather the seconds until the shutdown of the US Government, a process that began on October 1st.
Since then, nearly 600,000 workers have been furloughed, $18 billion of infrastructure funds for New York City are on hold, and millions in the US military are now serving without pay [1,2,3].
Yet for Congress, this hasn’t been a call to action —a (strong) tap on the back to remember that preventing a government shutdown has been their job for decades. Instead, what has emerged is a partisan blame-game akin to that of a TV Show (“The Middle”, anyone?). With the Department of Homeland Security website featuring the message, “Democrats’ Government Shutdown Will Not Slow ICE Down from Arresting the Worst of the Worst” and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson standing in front of a podium with the words “The Democrat Shutdown”, it appears that more time has been spent making attack posters than engaging in negotiations [4, 5].
But let’s take a moment to step back.
What Is a Government Shutdown?
Since 1977, Congress has been responsible for passing a dozen appropriations bills by the start of each new fiscal year on October 1st. These bills ensure that government agencies have the money to run; without them, the government shuts down [6, 7].
For decades, Congress has struggled to pass the appropriation bills on time, succeeding in doing so only four times since 1977 [6]. They typically opt to pass a “continuing resolution”, which temporarily continues funding until lawmakers agree on a “real plan” [7]. For instance, in 2023, Congress passed a continuing resolution just hours before October 1st hit, then passed three more It took them five months to finally pass the 2025 spending bill in March 2025, noticeably late [8].
Why Now?
Republicans currently control both the House and the Senate. A GOP-proposed continuing resolution has passed in the House, but requires 60 votes (all the Republicans and seven Democrats) in order to get past a filibuster in the Senate. Democrats demand an extension on expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) credits and want checks that would prohibit Trump from ignoring ACA provisions. Absent these credits, millions of Americans would face exponentially higher healthcare costs, and seven million Americans would go uninsured [9].
Both sides refuse to give in, resulting in a stalemate and preventing further action [9].
What Now?
With Senators saying that they expect the shutdown to drag on for at least a week, there is no end in sight [10]. The last government shutdown, which began in December of 2018, lasted for 34 days [7]. This remains concerning: A White House memo from Trump’s economic advisors noted that the US could lose $15 billion of its GDP for each week the shutdown continues [12].
Entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will continue to function because they are funded through permanent spending [7]. However, many agencies, including the National Institute of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Aviation Administration are being forced to furlough thousands of workers. Among other effects of this widespread shutdown, this will largely slow medical research, pause coordination with state departments on opioid overdose protection, and pose uncertainty when it comes to travel [12].
Trump has taken a notable stance, asserting that “Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat-forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud”, and that the people fired are “gonna be Democrats” [13]. Press Secretary Leavitt followed up by saying that Trump “is working with agencies to identify where cuts can be made” [13].
What’s even scarier is that the shutdown has forced massive furloughs within government Cybersecurity Departments at a time when the US is facing a uniquely high number of cyber-attacks from China. These lapses in security pose increased danger to both US companies and citizens — ironic when we consider that October 1st marked the start of Cybersecurity Awareness Month [14].
This all plays out on the larger background of partisan politics, where everything from social media posts to speeches are overcoded by political attacks. Even traditionally non-partisan agencies, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, are engaging in the fight, sending out newsletters that spread one message: Democrats are to blame [15]. This sentiment remains all the more clear both in President Trump’s comments and his actions: since the shutdown started, he has halted more than $27 billion in approved funding, most of which was allocated to Democrat-led states [16].
To the people, this poses a serious question: Why is our automatic response to dire situations conflict, not cooperation? What does this mean for the future of Congress: will we pass policies on critical issues like healthcare or climate change, or take our last breath amidst fighting?
Because while our government may act like we’re in a sitcom, the stakes are far from comedic. Each day of partisan conflict and delayed action has far-reaching consequences: thousands lose paychecks, our economy deteriorates, and we remain vulnerable to cyberattacks.
It’s time Congress gets its act together.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/09/30/us/politics/government-shutdown-furloughs.html
[2] https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-10-2-2025
[3] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/government-shutdown-2025-whats-still-open-00195598
[7] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-2025-what-happens/
[10] https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5534148-senate-shutdown-expected-extend/
[11] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/us-gdp-loss-shutdown-00590927
[12] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/government-shutdown-2025-whats-still-open-00195598
[13] https://time.com/7322551/trump-government-shutdown-warning-layoffs-democrats-at-risk/
[14] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/02/cisa-shutdown-cybersecurity/
[16] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/us/politics/trump-shutdown-punish-foes.html