{"slug":"trump-shutdown-longest-in-us-history","title":"Longest Government Shutdown in U.S. History: 35 Days Over Border Wall Funding","date":"2018-12-22","lastUpdated":"2019-01-25","description":"On December 22, 2018, parts of the federal government shut down when Congress and Trump could not agree on funding, with Trump demanding $5.7 billion for a border wall. The shutdown lasted 35 days — the longest in U.S. history — until Trump signed a continuing resolution to reopen the government without the wall funding. Approximately 800,000 federal employees went without pay; some worked without compensation for weeks.","summary":"The shutdown began when Trump refused to sign a continuing resolution that did not include wall funding, after initially indicating he would sign a bipartisan agreement. Approximately 800,000 federal workers went without pay; those deemed 'essential' — including air traffic controllers, TSA agents, Coast Guard personnel, and federal law enforcement — were required to work without compensation. The TSA began calling out sick in significant numbers, raising aviation safety concerns. Trump reopened the government after 35 days without receiving any wall funding.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/us/politics/government-shutdown-over.html","title":"Government Shutdown Ends After 35 Days","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-signs-legislation-to-reopen-government-after-35-day-shutdown/2019/01/25/6e6ec5b0-20cb-11e9-bda4-1a37f9f97a8a_story.html","title":"Government shutdown ends as Trump signs deal with no wall funding","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/coast-guard-tsa-federal-workers-partial-shutdown-north-america-a3ddb05f0c62403c86fcd5a4090b3fae","title":"800,000 workers affected — essential workers required to work without pay","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["government-shutdown","border-wall","federal-workers","first-term","rule-of-law"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2018-12-19","title":"Senate passes CR without wall funding","summary":"The Senate passes a bipartisan continuing resolution without wall funding; the White House initially indicates Trump will sign it. Conservative media and commentators, including Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, criticize the deal."},{"date":"2018-12-21","title":"Trump reverses — refuses to sign","summary":"Trump reverses course and says he will not sign a funding bill without wall funding. The House passes an amended bill with $5.7 billion for the wall; the Senate does not pass it."},{"date":"2018-12-22","title":"Partial shutdown begins","summary":"Funding for approximately 25% of the federal government — nine cabinet departments — lapses. The shutdown begins."},{"date":"2019-01-11","title":"Record for longest shutdown broken","summary":"The shutdown passes 22 days, exceeding the previous U.S. record set during the Clinton administration in 1995-1996."},{"date":"2019-01-25","title":"Trump signs continuing resolution — no wall funding","summary":"Trump signs a continuing resolution to reopen the government for three weeks — without any wall funding. He describes it as a compromise while threatening another shutdown. He does not receive the $5.7 billion he had demanded."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Approximately 800,000 federal workers who went without pay for 35 days; contractors and small businesses dependent on government operations; recipients of federal services that were suspended or degraded","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States; refused to sign funding bill without wall money","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-01-25","summary":"Updated with reopening without wall funding."}]}}