It’s now early Wednesday morning on September 29, 2025 and the United States government has just officially entered a shutdown. Yet leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties were unable to negotiate a compromise on a short-term funding continuation. The shutdown began at midnight on October 1, 2025. That occurred simply because the appropriations for the current fiscal year have run out.
President Donald Trump shot multiple rounds with important Democrat insiders like Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. Sadly, even with all this energy, their negotiations fell apart. Democrats are adamant that any stopgap bill includes at a minimum an extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits. It was this seemingly innocuous demand that started the standoff.
These are the same kinds of things that President Trump today suggested he might do while the shutdown continues. He argued that deeper reductions in federal entitlements would affect millions of lives. This new, unprecedented threat has understandably alarmed millions of Americans concerned about disruption to federal services and harm to workers.
Beyond ripple effects on the broader economy, the resulting shutdown will immediately furlough hundreds of federal employees. This paradigm shift will affect their bottom line and the wonderful services they deliver. In addition, a cascade of critical programs will come to an immediate stop with the funding lapse. This paints a pretty bleak picture of the future for many federal programs.
Here’s why this shutdown is just the latest episode in a deep-seated tradition of governmental gridlock. Since 1980, the government has raided the fund 14 times. These examples illustrate that even where there is agreement on budget matters, there are fundamental obstacles to bipartisan negotiations.
President Trump signed an executive order on September 30, 2025, at the White House, focusing on artificial intelligence and pediatric cancer research. Photo by Nathan Howard/Reuters. The picture is of the President pursuing a wide range of issues not connected to our current budgetary crisis.
If you were with us on October 1, 2025, congratulations! This shutdown will lead to disastrous long-term effects in Washington and across the country. Citizens and lawmakers alike are keeping a close eye on the negotiations as they play out.