US government shuts down after Senate fails to pass last-ditch funding plan

> This happens semi-routinely, there is a boring reality that goes along with it. [...] retroactively paid in practice

An important difference is that in the past employees were furloughed... but yesterday Republicans threatened they would permanently fire employees instead [0][1] and I'm not sure how it'll shake out.

Their hostage-taking threat falls flat though: They already have have a solid track record of capricious and/or illegal firings [3][4] since the election. There's no reason to expect appeasement would make them stop what they still want to do anyway.

_____________

[0] https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administr...

[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/unions-file-suit-t...

[2] https://www.npr.org/2025/09/25/nx-s1-5544317/federal-probati...

[3] https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/cre...

>As someone who actually worked for the Federal government when it shutdown in the past, people are exaggerating the implications for narrative purposes. This happens semi-routinely, there is a boring reality that goes along with it.

You seem to have normalised Government shutdowns in a way to cope with it.

But this is not normal, this does not happen in a normal government process.

I found out yesterday that it is now the law that federal employees are guaranteed back pay after a shutdown, thanks to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 passed after the 2019 shutdown.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/24

Except for people who are on welfare programs. They also dont get their payouts. Sure they WILL get it all back. But just because people will get to eat next month doesnt mean not eating this month isnt a problem.

It's less common that the president says he will use the shutdown to do rifs though.

Some federal contractor companies have a plan but not all do. They may allow workers leave without pay, forced them to take vacation/PTO, or critical workers are forced to come in and do 3 jobs at once but be paid while their friends/coworkers are not getting a paycheck.

“The people worst off are Federal contractors. They are effectively unemployed during these periods.”

I do not know if they are worst off as hopefully they have some emergency savings, credit card, or 401k loan they can take out.

Last 4 shutdowns: 21, 16, 2, and 34 days.

I think it's a bit worse this time since we have an unbridled President, that the SCOTUS has made King-adjacent, who wants to permanently fire a lot of the furloughed employees out of vengeance and with no clear logic other than he's angry. So this time it's not quite as matter-of-fact.

It's not unprecedented, but I think calling it "regular" is also downplaying the issue here. We've been roughly on a schedule of once per 5 years or so.

I think it is highly irregular given this presidency. Reagan shut down 3 times to weaken various unions and facilities, really wielding it as a bargaining chip. Clinton shut down twice as a president with a congress that didn't align with him

Trump has now shut down the government 5 times, and the truly odd thing is how 4 times he had congress on his side. This isn't really something to just shake off.

(and for completeness. Carter had the first shutdown ever and Obama shut down once as well).

> In theory it is unpaid, but it is always retroactively paid in practice and everyone knows this.

Why only in theory? Why does it get paid back in practice?

Are the cleaning crews federal employees? Who is taking out the trash and maintaining the restrooms during the shutdown?

It's a Hatch Act Violation.

If anyone in the DOJ cared to enforce it.

From our most vulnerable people. And are educated populace. And the media. And even our soldiers of you look into how these deployments work.

Can't generate money, only lose it then refuse to allocate what we have left.

Combined with the mass e-mails Trump appointees sent out within different departments, these are crimes under the Hatch Act, since they are using government resources for nakedly partisan purposes.

My favorite part is the Hero countdown timer on the index page (https://www.whitehouse.gov/) and the countdown timer graphic on the dedicated govt shutdown page (https://www.whitehouse.gov/government-shutdown-clock/) don't match:

https://i.imgur.com/3SNa03R.png

Not to mention, the graphic is extraordinarily ugly.

Interesting - I don't see that all. What CDN does that site use? I wonder if there's a caching issue on my side...

In various other countries, if you can't pass a budget, your governance is in question to the point that you face a new election. i.e., it is on you to negotiate more flexibly to avoid this.

"Nothing is my fault, I'm responsible for nothing, you should be angry / afraid at all times at other people and that is why you should vote for me."

- US Conservative Majority who makes policy ...

Republicans can’t Math, boss.

When Democrats hold the majority Democrats can't do anything because Republicans don't let them.

When Republicans hold the majority Democrats can't do anything because Republicans don't let them.

A majority isn't enough to end the shutdown. It takes 60 Senate votes to pass a budget, and there are only 53 Republicans in the Senate.

This is the least productive Congressional session in history. It's a tiny majority. Also, the pretend Christian head of the House refuses to swear in Adelita Grijalva who was duly elected. The modern House has very little real power compared to the Senate.