Longest US Government Shutdowns
By Reuters | 01 Oct, 2025

No one knows how this shutdown will rank among the 15 US government shutdowns since 1981, including the following long ones.

A view of a sign warning that the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is closed, with the U.S. Capitol dome visible in the background, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 1, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Thousands of U.S. federal employees stopped working on Wednesday when the government shutdown due to a budget impasse in Congress. 

Following are the longest shutdowns since 1980, when U.S. administrations started furloughing some federal workers when budgets expire.

2018-2019 - 35 days

The longest shutdown on record started December 22, 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term in the White House. Democrats in Congress refused to back a spending bill that included Trump's $5.7 billion request for fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border. Lawmakers eventually approved a spending bill without border wall money that Trump signed into law on January 25, 2019, ending the shutdown. 

1995-1996 - 22 days

The government partially shut down on December 16, 1995 as part of a clash between the Republican-controlled Congress and then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, over how to balance the budget. Clinton signed a bill to re-open the government on January 6, 1996. Some polls showed the public largely blamed Republicans in Congress for the shutdown and some analysts said the spat helped Clinton win re-election in 1996.

2013 - 16 days

Government workers started furloughs on October 1 after Republicans demanded cuts or delays to a health care law championed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat. The shutdown was part of a broader impasse over the national debt, with the government at risk of defaulting on its obligations without congressional authorization for further borrowing. Obama signed a bill re-opening the government shortly after midnight on October 17, with legislation that also authorized more borrowing.

1995 - 6 days

In a prelude to the longer shutdown at the close of 1995, government workers started furloughs on November 14 after Clinton vetoed a spending bill backed by Republicans. Washington reached a deal November 19 to re-open the government but another shutdown was only weeks away.

1990 - 3 days

Republican President George Bush vetoed a spending bill over a fight on how to reduce deficits, leading to a partial shutdown on October 6 that closed national parks and other landmarks. Lawmakers passed a measure to re-open the government in the early hours of October 9.

2018 - 3 days

Democrats in the Republican-controlled Congress blocked a spending bill, triggering a shutdown on January 20, partly as a way to shield from deportation immigrants who entered the country without authorization as children. Congress approved a bill ending the shutdown January 22 without addressing the fate of the young undocumented immigrants. 

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)