A federal government shutdown extended into its 21st day on Friday, tying a 13-year-old record for the longest such impasse in U.S. history with no signs that negotiations would end the stalemate anytime soon since congressional leaders have already left Capitol Hill for the week.
Hundreds of thousands of government workers missed their first paycheck on Friday as House Democrats and President Donald Trump have refused to budge over the president’s demands for $5.7 billion for a border wall.
The president appears to be so set on getting the funding that on Thursday at his visit to the border in McAllen, Texas, he said he’d be willing to declare a national emergency to get the wall built instead.
So how will this shutdown end? We still don't know yet, but we know how the other recent government shutdowns ended. History shows us that anything can happen.
Take a look at these three recent showdowns that all ended in different ways.
21 days — the president compromises
Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 5, 1996
The shutdown that occurred as 1995 turned into 1996 is remembered as a showdown between then President
The standoff was a result of Republicans thinking Clinton’s budget spent too much money and the president not wanting to see cuts to programs like Medicare and Medicaid that Republicans wanted. There was also debate over whether — with the ultimate goal of balancing it in seven years — the budget should use numbers from the
The shutdown ended with Republicans passing the legislation with an agreement from Clinton to use Congressional Budget Office projections.
16 days — Republicans compromise
Oct. 1 to Oct. 17, 2013
This government shutdown centered around President
House Republicans wanted to pass a bill that would delay the health care law’s implementation and Senate Democrats rejected it. The shutdown ended with both sides agreeing to focus on finances instead.
On day 16, Obama signed a bill to raise the nation’s debt ceiling so bills could be paid, federal workers could return, and budget negotiations could continue. Republicans lost the fight to stop the health care law widely known as Obamacare.
3 days — Democrats compromise
Jan. 20 to Jan. 22, 2018
Despite Republicans holding the majority in both sides of Congress, Democrats forced a government shutdown in 2018 over immigration. The biggest issue for which Democrats delayed passing a budget was the
Democrats caved after three days when Senate Republicans agreed to take up legislation over DACA down the road. That issue has never been resolved.