A prolonged standoff between Republicans and Democrats over government spending and healthcare subsidies has pushed the US government shutdown into its 40th day.
This marks the longest shutdown in the nation’s history, surpassing the previous record of 38 days, which began at the end of 2018 and ended in January 2019 — during Donald Trump’s first presidency.
A US government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass budget bills or stopgap resolutions to fund federal operations and agencies for the new fiscal year.
The current shutdown began on October 1, the start of the US federal fiscal year.
The spending dispute is especially tense because Trump has spent the past 10 months drastically cutting the size of the federal government.
Key points of contention include healthcare provisions, particularly the extension of premium tax credits for health insurance and Medicaid funding. Republicans have pushed for a “clean” funding bill without these extensions, while Democrats insist on maintaining expanded health benefits and oppose cuts to public health agencies.
The impasse has left about 900,000 federal employees furloughed and another two million working without pay.
When the shutdown began, US embassies and consulates worldwide announced they would scale back public communications, saying they would not post routine updates “until full operations resume,” except for urgent safety and security information.
The US Embassy in Nigeria issued a similar statement.
