The US government shutdown is now the longest in history

BarcelonaThe US government shutdown which lasts from October 1st It is now the longest in history. This Wednesday, triggered by the lack of agreement between Senate Democrats and Republicans to approve the budget, it reached its thirty-fifth day. Thus, coinciding with the anniversary of Donald Trump's electoral victory, it has surpassed the 34 days of the previous shutdown. which occurred between December 2018 and January 2019.

Amid the political infighting, at least one million workers have been furloughed and haven't received a single dollar in over a month. Furthermore, they see that Trump, who during his first term passed a law to provide retroactive pay to affected workers, hasn't made it clear whether he will implement it this time. The situation is especially dire in agencies like Environmental Protection, the Department of Education, and the Department of Commerce, where more than 80% of employees have been temporarily laid off.

The situation at airports is also worrying. Air traffic controllers are being forced to work without pay, and more and more are taking sick leave or trying to find other jobs to make ends meet. Last weekend, CNN reported more than 400 instances of staff shortages in control towers. On Tuesday, Trump's Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, warned that if the shutdown continues, the "massive chaos" could force him to close parts of the country's airspace.

Aid suspended

However, the effects of the shutdown are far from limited to employees of federal agencies and departments. Companies subcontracted by these entities, such as cleaning services for some national museums, are also not operating, leaving their workers in limbo. And some government-funded aid and subsidies have run out of money.

This is the case of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program SNAP, a vital program for many families that until now reached 40 million people each month and had never been interrupted in 50 years, is facing a crisis. Two judges ordered the executive branch last Friday to find a way to fund the program during the shutdown. This Monday, the Trump administration announced it would use contingency funds to pay 50% of the usual benefit amount (an average of $180) in November, but warned that the funds could take weeks or even months to arrive.

No news in the Senate

At this point, nothing suggests that the federal government's administrative machinery will be back in operation anytime soon. The situation remains deadlocked in the Senate, the upper house of the U.S. government, where Republicans would need to convince at least seven Democrats to vote in favor of their budget proposal to reach the 60 votes required for its passage. However, Democrats are adamantly refusing to support the budget unless it includes funding to extend Obamacare's health subsidies and reverses the cuts Trump made to the Medicaid program.

So far, Senate Democrats have refused to reopen the government 13 times, insisting that Trump and the Republicans must sit down and negotiate with them first. For his part, the president blames the Democrats directly for the situation and has accused them of "losing their way." However, Trump predicts that his opponents will eventually give in: "If they don't vote, that's their problem."

In fact, a section of the official White House website It displays a live clock showing the duration of the shutdown with the caption "Democrats have shut down the government," infographics about the economic impact of the shutdown - which the Congressional Budget Office puts between 7 billion and 14 billion dollars—and the list of groups that support the republican view of the conflict. The president even considered trying to reform the regulations to unilaterally approve the accounts, but he encountered opposition from within his own party.