With fanny packs back in vogue and dad sneakers galore, it’s been feeling like 2018 lately. But to add a cherry on top of the nostalgia, Donald Trump has plunged the country into yet another government shutdown—for the first time in six years! Alexa, play The Chainsmokers.
Republicans and Democrats have long been hurtling towards an October 1 deadline, the start of the government’s fiscal year, before which the Senate had to reach a 60-vote agreement for federal funding. But because (spoiler alert) they didn’t, Washington is at a standstill, and the president is chirping that it’s all the Dems’ fault.
Like most of what the corrupter-in-chief says, that’s not really true. The Dems have been trying to land a deal with Republicans to extend Obamacare-era health care subsidies for months now, as they’re set to expire for 22 million Americans by the end of the year. Meanwhile, GOP legislators have been trying to do anything but.
New photo shows House Democrats in full attendance to stop government shutdown while the Republican side of the chamber is empty. pic.twitter.com/5nG5H79f9P
In the lead-up to Wednesday, both parties’ stop-gaps failed to get the 60 votes they needed. But while the Dems introduced a measure that would fund the government through the end of October and extend the expiring tax credits, the GOP presented one that kept government funding through November with no subsidies. So Democrats refused to back it.
Within the big blame game, according to polls, Dems may have an advantage. And in a joint statement released by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) after the shutdown began, the two blamed Trump: “Over the last few days, President Trump’s behavior has become more erratic and unhinged,” they wrote. “Instead of negotiating a bipartisan agreement in good faith, he is obsessively posting crazed deepfake videos.” (On Monday night, the president of the United States of America shared an AIvideo depicting Jeffries in a sombrero and fake mustache standing next to Schumer, saying undocumented immigrants should get free healthcare. And before that, he shared and deleted an AI-generated video promoting “medbeds,” a far-right conspiracy created by QAnon.)
The White House just announced that the construction of Trump’s $200 million golden ballroom will continue during the government shutdown while American soldiers go without pay. pic.twitter.com/elGwVLwLhK
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) October 1, 2025
This will be the 22nd federal shutdown since 1976—when the current budget process was first established. The last shutdown, which also happened to be the country’s longest shutdown, took place during Trump’s first term, from December 22, 2018, to January 19, 2019. That shutdown was due to Trump refusing to sign a budget deal that didn’t include funds for his U.S.-Mexico border wall.
During the shutdown, about 40% of the federal workforce, or about 750,000 people, are expected to be put on unpaid leave, and hundreds of thousands of salaries will be put on hold. But if Dems concede, millions of Americans could lose access to vital health care.
Vividly, I remember the last time a shutdown happened because I’d been working as a congressional intern, and therefore jobless for a full 34 days because there’s quite literally no one less expendable than an unpaid intern. But truthfully, I just can’t believe we’re back here again.
