Although Republicans have a majority in both houses of Congress, Senate Democrats are blocking the funding bill by denying a 60-vote margin for passage.
The government shutdown that started on Oct. 1 has entered its fourth week and is now the second-longest in U.S. history.
At Day 22 of the shutdown, Democrats and Republicans have remained at odds. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) has been speaking on the Senate floor for more than 17 hours to protest the Trump administration’s policies.
The Senate was scheduled to vote for a 12th time to reopen the government, but Merkley’s speech may derail that vote.
Shutdowns Began in the 1980s
The ongoing shutdown is the second-longest funding lapse in modern history, exceeded by the 35-day shutdown that started in late 2018 and lasted until early 2019. Funding lapse-caused shutdowns are a mostly recent phenomenon, starting in their current format in the early 1980s, according to the House of Representatives’ website.
Before the 1980s, according to the House, “funding gaps did not typically have major effects on government operations. Government agencies would often continue to operate during a lapse in appropriations, with the expectation that funding would be provided in the future.”
That all changed after a series of legal opinions by then-Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti in 1980–1981 suggested that federal agencies had no legal basis to continue operating during funding lapses.
During the 35-day shutdown, Democrats disputed President Donald Trump’s request for billions in federal funding to construct a U.S.–Mexico border wall, a signature issue in Trump’s first presidential campaign. Later, the Senate passed an appropriations bill without any funding for the wall. This came after Democrats took power in the House after the 2018 midterm elections.
A shutdown in 1995 and 1996 lasted 21 days during the administration of President Bill Clinton.
No End in Sight
On Tuesday, Trump said that the GOP won’t “be extorted” by Democratic lawmakers.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on Trump to meet with Democrats on ending the government shutdown.
“Things get worse every day for the American people,” Schumer said at an Oct. 21 news conference before calling for Trump to meet before the president’s trip to Asia. “He should sit down with us” and “negotiate in a serious way before he goes away.”
