The United States is no stranger to government shutdowns.

The last one was in 2019 during President Trump’s first term in the White House which lasted for 34 days- the longest in U.S. history. In fact, the U.S. government has shut down 20 times since 1976, 3 in the last 12 years.

Even though this shut down came at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 1, it has been months in the making.

Democratic lawmakers came close to forcing a shutdown in March but in the end decided to keep the government running at current funding levels. But since then, President Donald Trump managed to pass his Big Beautiful Bill through congress -- which extended tax cuts for many wealthy people but also limited healthcare programs for the poor such as Medicaid -- which experts say could lead to millions losing their health coverage.

Democrats also want the Trump administration to extend subsidies for health insurance companies due to expire at the end of the year. These subsidies keep costs down for families buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare” -- a program Republicans have long wanted to scrap.

While the standoff is focused on the fight over healthcare, it’s about much more.

Democrats are angry about the Trump administration's use of troops in U.S. cities, the increasingly confrontational deportation policy against migrants and deep cuts to the government workforce initially unleashed by Elon Musk and his DOGE policy.

But with the Democrats in the minority in both Houses of Congress, they have not been able to stop any of these policies.

So now the U.S. government is not being funded.

That means many government agencies will have to send workers home without pay, some will work with no pay until the shutdown ends and Americans lives will be disrupted.

Many National Parks will close until the shutdown ends, Government economic data won’t be published, and while recipients of social security will continue to get their checks, new claims for benefits could be delayed.

Some agencies, at least for the first few days, will continue to operate as normal. Tax collection by the IRS will not be interrupted, and the U.S. Commerce Department confirmed that tariffs will continue to be collected.

The longer the shutdown continues however, the more government functions will be scaled back and more federal workers furloughed or even fired. In fact, the White House says they are planning on using the shutdown to accelerate their plans to cut the federal workforce adding to the tensions between the parties.

Negotiations behind the scenes are happening. Several Senate Democrats have broken with their party to side with Republicans to keep the U.S. government funded. A few more defections may give the Trump administration enough votes to reopen the government.

Democrats however believe that standing up to the Trump administration will play well with the American people who see the cost of living and rising healthcare costs as priorities.

With midterm congressional elections scheduled for November 2026, Democrats think it could be a vote winner which could help them win back a majority in congress.

But for now, both sides think they can win and get the other side to back down first.

Both sides are waging a war in the media, on air and online in a battle for public support.

Americans however have little faith in their institutions right now, and the deep partisan divide in Washington and across the nation make compromise even more difficult.

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