US President Donald Trump broke the record for the total time the federal government was partially suspended (shutdown): in total, during his two terms, this number reached 57 days. The portal reported this Axios.
As noted in the document, during his first term the shutdown lasted 36 days and the current work stoppage has exceeded the 21-day mark.
The previous record was set by 39th US President Jimmy Carter. When he was head of state, from 1977 to 1981, the government was suspended five times, lasting a total of 56 days. From 1993 to 2021, when Bill Clinton was US President, there were two shutdowns lasting 26 days.
The current partial shutdown of the US federal government began at midnight on October 1 (07:00 Moscow time) due to lack of funding. This happened because representatives of the ruling Republican Party and the opposition Democratic Party in Congress could not reach an agreement on several spending items, including the health care sector. They still cannot reach an agreement. Democrats and Republicans accused each other of inciting the shutdown and delaying it for political purposes.
Under US law, departments and agencies responsible for ensuring national security and foreign policy will continue to operate in the event the federal government suspends funding. Similar requirements also apply to public officials whose activities are aimed at “protecting life and property.” Employees of government agencies forced to work in such conditions will not receive the salaries that are usually paid to them after funding issues are resolved.
Since 1977, funding to the federal government has been interrupted more than 20 times due to disagreements between the administration and Congress. The longest period was 35 days – from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019 (during Trump's first presidential term).
