SECOND LONGEST SHUTDOWN IN U.S. HISTORY CONTINUES 

At 24 days, the current shutdown is the second longest in U.S. history. It moved from the third to the second slot earlier this week when it surpassed the 1996 shutdown, which lasted 21 days.  

However, the 35-day shutdown that ran between December 2018 and January 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term remains the longest shutdown. Nevertheless, the current federal budget impasse between Democrats and Republicans shows no sign of ending and could reach or even exceed the 35-day mark. 

Notably, excluding partial government shutdowns, such as occurred in 2018-2019, and only considering total government shutdowns (periods in which none of the annual spending bills have been enacted), the current lapse is the longest in our nation’s history.

 

11TH AND 12TH CONTINUING RESOLUTION VOTES FAIL 

This week, the Senate voted twice more on the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), H.R. 5371. Like the ten earlier votes on the CR, these two failed to garner the necessary 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster.

• Vote on September 19th: 44-48
• Vote on September 30th: 55-45
• Vote on October 1st: 55-45
• Vote on October 3rd: 54-44
• Vote on October 6th: 52-42
• Vote on October 8th: 54-45
• Vote on October 9th: 54-45
• Vote on October 14th: 49-45
• Vote on October 15th: 51-44
• Vote on October 16th: 51-45
• Vote on October 20th: 50-43
• Vote on October 22nd: 54-46

As a reminder, a CR is a spending measure passed by Congress that allows the government to operate at previously enacted spending levels. Most often, Congress passes CRs in order to grant itself additional time to negotiate over full-year spending bills. (However, it is also the case that, in March, Congress passed a full-year CR for fiscal year 2025.) Indeed, Congress rarely passes the annual spending bills before the October 1st deadline. Consequently, CRs have become a routine tool to prevent government shutdowns. 

The CR passed by the House on September 19th – H.R. 5371 – would reopen the government and allow it to operate until November 21st. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-ND) has recently suggested, due to the length of the current shutdown, a new CR may need to be drafted that would extend beyond the current CR’s November 21st end date. 

 

SENATE BILLS TO PAY FEDERAL WORKERS DURING SHUTDOWN ARE DEFEATED

Two bills aimed at providing pay to federal employees during the shutdown each failed to advance on Thursday. The first, S. 3012, authored by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), would pay federal employees who are working during the shutdown. The second, S. 3039, led Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), would pay all federal employees, including those who have been furloughed. The first bill fell short of the necessary 60-vote threshold (link), and the second was rejected on parliamentary grounds when the bill’s sponsor sought unanimous consent to bring it to a vote.