As the federal government’s partial shutdown enters its 17th day on Friday, Oct. 17, it remains on track to break records.
The current shutdown started just after midnight on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a new budget, marking the fourth shutdown so far during Donald Trump’s two terms as president.
Over the past five decades, every president besides George W. Bush and Joe Biden has had at least one shutdown of at least a few days. Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama all experienced shutdowns lasting more than two weeks during their tenures.
Here’s what to know and how the ongoing shutdown compare to previous ones.
When was the last government shutdown?
The federal government has shuttered 21 times since 1977, most recently from December 2018 to January 2019.
Government shutdown ties as fourth-longest in U.S. history on Friday, Oct. 17
On Friday, Oct. 17, the ongoing shutdown tied with the 2013 shutdown, the fourth-longest in U.S. history at 17 days. The 2013 shutdown took place between Oct. 1 and Oct. 17 under President Barack Obama and was tied to divisions over the Affordable Care Act, which the Republicans tried to repeal.
Day 20 of government shutdown on Monday, Oct. 20, would mark third-longest
If the government doesn’t reopen by Monday, Oct. 20, the ongoing shutdown would become the third-longest in history, surpassing the 1978 shutdown under President Jimmy Carter.
The shutdown that began on Sept. 30, 1978, lasted 19 days until Oct. 18, 1978, during Carter’s second year as president, according to TIME. It happened due to several reasons, including disagreements over funding for abortion and a defense spending bill that included funding for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Day 22 on Wednesday, Oct. 22, would become second-longest government shutdown
On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the ongoing shutdown would become the second-longest government shutdown, surpassing the 1995-1996 shutdown, which was triggered by a budgetary standoff between House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton. It lasted 21 days from Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996.
Day 36 on Wednesday, Nov. 5, would mark longest shutdown in U.S. history
If the government remains shut down until Nov. 5, it will mark the longest-ever shutdown in U.S. history.
So far, the longest ever shutdown, lasting 35 days, occurred during Trump’s first term and was the third shutdown under his tenure. It started on Dec. 22, 2018, after Trump demanded $5.7 billion to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border and continued until Jan. 25, 2019, during which Democrats refused to negotiate on border wall funding until the government reopened, USA TODAY previously reported.
That standoff stretched for 35 days, leading to the furlough of more than 350,000 federal workers and forcing 400,000 others to work without pay. Some food-safety inspections were temporarily suspended, trash piled up in national parks, federal landmarks and museums closed, and some airports shuttered checkpoints due to fewer Transportation Security Administration officers to screen passengers.
The shutdown ended only after Trump backed a bipartisan bill that contained none of the border wall funding he had demanded.
Government shutdown 2025: Government shutdown tracker shows how Kentucky senators Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul voted
Contributing: USA TODAY Network reporters Zac Anderson, Joey Garrison, Bart Jansen, Sudiksha Kochi, Terry Moseley, Zachary Schermele, Sarah D. Wire and Saman Shafiq.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How does government shutdown 2025 length compare to previous shutdowns?
