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Artical about

Government shutdowns in the United States since 2018

Answer 1

Article: Government shutdowns in the United States Since 2018

The middle of the third longest-running government shutdown in American history. With 16 full days down, and no clear end in sight, the odds are good that the 2018-’19 shutdown will outlast 2013’s (also 16 days) or even 1995’s (21 days) by the time it’s done.

The partial shutdown began on December 22, 2018, with President Donald Trump’s demand for $5 billion to pay for his much-promised full-length border wall with Mexico, and while both parties in Congress had floated $1.6 billion as a compromise, Trump rejected it. His $5 billion isn’t enough for a full wall, but would block off 215 additional miles that are currently unfenced (in addition to the 120 miles the administration is currently building with existing funds). Most recently Democrats offered a spending package that would maintain current funding levels for border security, which Trump rejected out of hand.

In the meantime, some 420,000 federal workers are working without pay; another 380,000 are furloughed without pay; tax refunds might be delayed; and food stamps payments could soon be cut for lack of funds.

Shutdown 19: January 20 to 22, 2018

President: Donald Trump

Senate: Republicans (51-49), Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

House: Republicans (238-193), Speaker Paul Ryan

Why: This one was over immigration. As Vox’s Andrew Prokop explained at the time, Democrats, spurred on by outside activists, wanted to force the Trump Administration and Congress to protect beneficiaries of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival), which barred deportation of unauthorized immigrants who came to the US as kids, after the Trump administration decided to end the program. Because Democrats easily had enough votes to filibuster a funding bill in the Senate, they (and a handful of Republican senators who also voted no) were able to block a bill lacking protections for DACA recipients and force a shutdown.

But they folded relatively quickly after that, agreeing to fund the government (and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which was also up for renewal) after Majority Leader McConnell promised to hold a vote on an immigration bill.

Shutdown 20: February 9, 2018

President: Donald Trump

Senate: Republicans (51-49), Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

House: Republicans (238-193), Speaker Paul Ryan

Why: The second shutdown of the Trump years was a Rand Paul special. Indeed, calling it a “shutdown” is kind of generous, as it only lasted a few hours and mostly involved Paul forcing his colleagues to stay until nearly 6 in the morning.

But in any case, Paul was angry that congressional leaders had negotiated a deal to exceed budget caps adopted as part of the 2011 fiscal cliff deal. Most Republicans accepted the deal as a necessary price of getting higher defense spending, but Paul, among the most dovish Republicans in the chamber, is a fierce critic of defense spending too.

So Paul filibustered the bill, delaying passage to 5:30 am and technically causing a brief shutdown, even though there were easily enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill

December 2018–January 2019

The third shutdown of 2018 began at midnight EST on Saturday, December 22 with a House-passed continuing resolution to fund the United States Government awaiting a full floor vote in the Senate. The point of contention was the inclusion of $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall that was a core Trump campaign promise. Under pressure from vocal members of his political base such as Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh for failing to secure the funding, Trump claimed ownership of the shutdown while in a televised meeting with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. This shutdown is ongoing as of January 2019.

Roughly 380,000 federal workers were placed on unpaid leave, while some 420,000 “essential” personnel were required to work without pay, including tens of thousands of workers in federal law enforcement and national security positions, such as FBI, Border Patrol, Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration agents. Hundreds of TSA agents at major airports called in sick during the second week of the shutdown, reportedly in protest or to pick up income elsewhere. The Washington Post reported on 4 January 2019 that the Trump administration had not anticipated the shutdown would be prolonged and were now grasping the consequences of an extended shutdown, including sharp reductions in SNAP payments and delays of $140 billion in tax refunds.

The Post also reported on 4 January 2019 that because the shutdown was triggered by the failure to enact spending bills that continued a federal government pay freeze, hundreds of senior Trump administration political appointees would receive a roughly $10,000 pay raise in two days. Vice President Pence's salary would see a $12,800 increase. Hours after the report, Margaret Weichert, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, directed department and agency heads to suspend the raises.

On 4 January 2019 Trump asserted he could continue the shutdown for "months or even years" to force funding of the border wall and is considering declaring a national emergency to build the wall without congressional approval. As he prepared to address the nation from the Oval Office on January 8, Trump reportedly asked aides to find a way to end the shutdown without appearing to capitulate to Democrats.