A History Of US Government Shutdowns

All 21 Government Shutdowns in U.S. History

Duration and Year of Government Shutdowns

 The dome of the U.S. Capitol is picture here in January 2011. 

In United States politics, “government shutdowns” occur whenever Congress fails to pass or the President of the United States refuses to sign or vetoes legislation funding the operation of some or all government agencies. Under the Antideficiency Act of 1982, the federal government must “shutdown” the affected agencies by both furloughing non-essential personnel and curtailing agency activities and services that do not directly relate to national security.

Key Takeaways

• Government shutdowns happen when legislation to allocate money needed for the operation of the government agencies fails to be enacted.
• By law, most government agencies must furlough their non-essential personnel and stop or limit their activities during a government shutdown.
• While few last very long, all government shutdowns result in increased costs of government and inconvenience for many citizens. 

While most government shutdowns are of relatively short duration, they all result in the disruption to government services and increased costs to the government—and thus taxpayers—due to lost labor. According to the financial rating agency Standard & Poor's, the 16-day shutdown from October 1, to October 17, 2013, had “taken $24 billion out of the economy,” and “shaved at least 0.6 percent off annualized fourth-quarter 2013 GDP growth.”

There have been 20 government shutdowns in modern U.S. history, and they've done nothing to help Congress' abysmal approval ratings. There were six shutdowns ranging from eight to 17 days in the late 1970s, but the duration of government shutdowns shrank dramatically beginning in the 1980s.

And then there was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, in late 1995; that shutdown lasted three weeks and sent nearly 300,000 government workers home without paychecks. The gridlock came during President Bill Clinton's administration. The dispute between the Democrats and the Republicans was over disparate economic forecasts and whether the Clinton White House budget would result in a deficit or not. 

Weaponized Shutdowns

Occasionally, both Congress and presidents use government shutdowns as a way of accomplishing political goals not directly related to larger budgetary concerns like reducing the national debt or deficit. For example, in 2013, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives forced a lengthy shutdown in an unsuccessful attempt to get Democratic President Barack Obama to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The third shutdown during the Donald Trump presidency began at midnight on December 22, 2018, when funding for nearly a quarter of the federal government ran out. The partial shutdown came when Congress and President Trump were unable to agree on the inclusion in the spending bill of some $5.5 billion requested by President Trump for completion of an anti-illegal immigration security wall along the Mexican border. As of December 26, 2018, the shutdown remained in effect, with congressional leaders predicting that it could extend beyond January 1, 2019.

More Recent Major Government Shutdowns

The most recent government major shutdowns before 2018 came in the 1996 fiscal year, during the Clinton administration.

• The first government shutdown of the Clinton administration lasted five full days from Nov. 13 through Nov. 19, 1995, according to the Congressional Research Service. Some 800,000 federal workers were furloughed during that shutdown.
• The second government shutdown was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. It lasted 21 full days from Dec. 15, 1995, to Jan. 6, 1996. Some 284,000 government workers were furloughed and another 475,000 worked without pay, according to the Congressional Research Service.

List of All Government Shutdowns and their Duration

This list of government shutdowns in the past was drawn from Congressional Research Service reports:

• 2018 (President Donald Trump): Dec. 22 to (ongoing)
• 2018 (President Donald Trump): Jan. 20 to Jan. 23 - 3 days
• 2018 (President Donald Trump): Feb. 9 – 1 day.
• 2013 (President Barack Obama): Oct. 1 to Oct. 17 - 16 days
• 1995-1996 (President Bill Clinton): December 5, 1995, to January 6, 1996, - 21 days
• 1995 (President Bill Clinton): Nov. 13 to 19 - 5 days
• 1990 (President George H.W. Bush): October 5 to 9 - 3 days
• 1987 (President Ronald Reagan): December 18 to December 20 - 1 day
• 1986 (President Ronald Reagan): October 16 to October 18 - 1 day
• 1984 (President Ronald Reagan): October 3 to October 5 - 1 day
• 1984 (President Ronald Reagan): September 30 to October 3 - 2 days
• 1983 (President Ronald Reagan): November 10 to November 14 - 3 days
• 1982 (President Ronald Reagan): December 17 to December 21 - 3 days
• 1982 (President Ronald Reagan): September 30 to October 2 - 1 day
• 1981 (President Ronald Reagan): November 20 to November 23 - 2 days
• 1979 (President Jimmy Carter): September 30 to October 12 - 11 days
• 1978 (President Jimmy Carter): September 30 to October 18 18 days

• 1977 (President Jimmy Carter): November 30 to December 9 - 8 days
• 1977 (President Jimmy Carter): October 31 to November 9 - 8 days
• 1977 (President Jimmy Carter): September 30 to October 13 - 12 days
• 1976 (President Gerald Ford): September 30 to October 11 - 10 days

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