On January 25, 2019, President Trump signed a bipartisan bill that will reopen the government temporarily, funding it until February 15. Lasting 35 days (from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019), the (partial) government shutdown made American history as the longest to date.

For the duration of the shutdown, several federal agencies were shuttered. Approximately 800,000 federal employees faced an unpaid furlough and an estimated 420,000 workers deemed essential were required to work without pay. During this time, they missed two paychecks and worked odd jobs to make ends meet – without promise of back pay. A report from the Congressional Budget Office revealed that with workers out of pocket, the U.S. economy lost $11 billion. The shutdown also resulted in some furloughed employees losing dental and health insurance, delays at major airports, slower services for Native American tribes, national parks and public spaces littered with trash, museums closing their doors, and the postponement of immigration court hearings. Consequently, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Brussels and Afghanistan was cancelled, and the President’s State of the Union Address has been deferred to February 5th.

Meanwhile, the debate over border security continues. President Trump is still requesting $5.7 billion to fund the wall along our southern border, insisting that if an agreement is not reached during the span of the three weeks succeeding the shutdown, he will declare a national emergency so he can access federal funding in order to build the wall. Currently, both the President and lawmakers are at work, trying to devise a solution to this issue. The House was originally scheduled for a session from February 13-15, but has extended their meeting for two days. Since the Democratic Caucus’s annual retreat coincides with the prolonged session, it has been postponed.

“It’s sad that our government had to shut down over a disagreement. Regardless of your political beliefs, the government shouldn’t be so partisan that it can’t come to a logical and simple agreement in a timely manner. To think that so many people had to suffer by missing two paychecks during the shutdown is horrible. Even now, the government hasn’t come to a full compromise,” SLHS senior Nicolas Taggart stated, “We just have three weeks to ‘make a better deal’ for money our President wants to spend on the border wall…Our country needs to be more connected and people immediately need to stop their disagreements and hostility over politics. Our government has to stop being so divided on political issues that it becomes unable to work properly. If our nation’s politicians and people talked to each other reasonably, we would solve these issues much faster – without harming government workers.”

As for now, the clock is ticking, and Americans are awaiting further actions on the government’s behalf. The question remains: will Congress and President Trump come to an agreement, or will the government shutdown resume?

Sources:
https://www.elitedaily.com/p/when-was-the-longest-government-shutdown-the-2019-shutdown-stacks-up-to-its-predecessors-15793847
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/09/us/politics/longest-government-shutdown.html
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/25/688414503/watch-live-trump-addresses-shutdown-from-white-house-rose-garden
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/19/government-shutdown-us-workers-furlough-congress
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/shutdown-cost-u-s-economy-11-billion-budget-office-says-n963531
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/08/us/politics/government-shutdown-calendar.html
https://abc7news.com/politics/trump-accepts-pelosis-invitation-to-deliver-state-of-the-union-address/5110168/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46911478
https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/house-adds-days-next-week-to-accommodate-government-funding-deadline
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/us/politics/trump-border-wall-republicans.html