![WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 1: A sign indicating that the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is closed due to the government shutdown, on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. Congress could not agree on a budget to fund government at midnight, causing the first shutdown since 2018 [File: Al Drago/Getty Images/AFP]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/afp_68dd8508766e-1759347976.jpg?ssl=1)
Shutdown beats record set during President Donald Trump’s first term, as experts warn the economy has started to suffer.
As United States lawmakers fail to agree on a deal to end the government shutdown, around 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed, millions of Americans go without food assistance, and air travel is disrupted across the country.
The shutdown began on October 1, after opposing sides in the US Senate failed to agree on spending priorities, with Republicans rejecting a push by Democrats to protect healthcare and other social programmes.
Since then, both sides have failed to agree on 14 separate funding measures, delaying payment to hundreds of thousands of federal staff.
After 40 days, senators from both parties are working this weekend to try to end what has become the longest government shutdown in US history. But talks on Saturday showed little sign of breaking the impasse and securing long-term funding for key programmes.
On Friday, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer offered Republicans a narrower version of an earlier Democratic proposal – a temporary extension of healthcare subsidies. Republicans rejected the offer, prolonging the record-breaking shutdown.
So what do we know about the shutdown, and how it has impacted Americans?
