Public sentiment is overwhelmingly negative and frustrated towards both Democrats and Republicans for their failure to resolve the government shutdown, which is perceived as detrimental to American citizens relying on government assistance. Many commenters express a strong desire for accountability among politicians and highlight the need for effective governance that considers the impact on everyday Americans.

Democrats

Republicans

President Trump

At some point the unpaid air traffic controllers will all stop showing up and the airports grind to a halt. That is generally the point at which government shutdowns end

eulynn34

The question devolves into what can convince Congress to reopen it.

Excellent_Speech_901

People stop getting checks and things will reopen. I'm not talking about some of your normal SSI/SSD stuff like that. I mean things like HUD landlords not receiving rent payments and not allowed to evict households per HUD agreements. 

Or banks cannot verify information with the IRS so banks stop issuing mortgages altogether. Or people that cannot get a passport/visa so travel is canceled. 

 Some programs are funded through Nov, past that, yikes. It'll be abrupt when it all finally hits.

Funderpants

If it just stays shut down I guess we have to face the fact that our government has collapsed.

Top-Cupcake4775

Usually around the third missed paycheck is when people really stop showing up to work. Usually this shows up first with air traffic controllers.

Pretty much Noone is going to show up to work for 2 months without pay. Just isn't going to happen in sufficient numbers to keep things moving.

JustAnother4848

a single government organization striking could cause drastic havoc.

  
a large number of TSA agents or air traffic controllers routinely calling in sick could easily cripple aviation in the blink of an eye

DONT_PM_ME_DICKS

The government relies on funding from Congress to conduct day to day operations. When the government is shut down, it’s like cutting the water main that goes into your building. Some pressure remains while there is still water on the other side, but it will quickly run out. In this case, money is water.

Government workers are by law supposed to work without pay during this period and be repaid for lost hours at the conclusion of the shutdown. So any data aggregation that was scheduled for fiscal 2026 is just not happening right now. 

Subsidy programs will halt pretty soon so most of those will shut off and people will be exposed to market prices of things they falsely believe are priced right. Health care is the big one, SNAP is next. Rental or Loan assistance, Business programs etc.

Around 2-3 missed pay checks workers typically start to give up, desert their positions and look for secondary jobs. Of primary concern are the military, Air Traffic Control and any hot blood that could potentially redirect into the private sector. 

If the shutdown keeps going through this period, you effectively have wildcat strikes and a the contagion of not paying workers begins to hit the consumption economy. Government workers care not allowed to strike officially, but they will abandon their jobs rules or not after 2 months of no pay, military or not. Fun fact, this includes security services for Congress. How interesting indeed.

Past this point, critical services will be challenged. This culminates in fed operations, which will not be permitted or will lack staff to make payments on the US debt. This would result in an automatic default, which effectively kills the economy irrecoverably. That would be a weimar moment.

Can someone force it open? Yes, but it’s highly illegal. Trump can use extra legal action to force staff at the fed to start making payment allocations at his discretion without congressional approval. He could even form a parallel payment structure outside of the fed if he was so inclined. This would effectively destroy the role of Congress in allocating money. 

It’s highly risky to do this, because most congressional seats retain loyalty of their subordinates through embezzlement, which they call “pork barreling”, which would no longer be in their hands. Without this, there’s no reason to sponsor lobbyists, congress can’t impact decisions that lead to kickbacks. There’s also no reason to pay them corruption money, since it won’t convert to anything. So Congress would have to decide if the president is going to castrate them, or if they want to fight for any form of power at all. 

That being said, I think we know what they would choose.

——

Update: I have been told the demolition of the east wing of the white house is being privately funded, and Trump has already played with private funds from Google to make subsidy payments to farmers, so it appears he’s already exploring alternative payments instead of forcing fed members to break the law.

Multidream

Suspending congressional pay would do it but unfortunately congress gets to decide that so…

Striking-Echo3424

ZionOrion

geak78

This is all on purpose. They are collapsing your country on purpose to seize complete power.

fayrent20

If we're talking about a theoretical scenario where the federal government just stops forever, it really just ends with state governments and private enterprise eventually stepping in to fill the gap locally, and cooperation between state agencies becoming more difficult.  Plus foreign policy becomes more difficult, as foreign actors have to deal with every state.  For example, Israel would have to figure out how much they should tithe each state's income.  Same goes for tariffs etc.

Street-Field-528

Think the military will stop getting paid in about a month. That will likely force them to do something.

sergius64

The government's been shutdown since Gingrich in 1994.

RedBaronSportsCards

TSA and air traffic controllers stop going to work. That’ll cause congress to cave.

Kind-Researcher-2086

The last time it was the fact that air traffic dragged to a halt because air traffic control people stop showing up to work.

But this time we have an entire party devoted to the destruction of the United States in control of all three branches of government, so it's impossible to say if there is anything that will get them to stop it.

Deinosoar

There are a lot of people still working right now without getting paid. Eventually they will find other jobs. The government will slowly fall apart.
Basic services will stop functioning.


Then Trump will declare he needs to fix things by making a dictatorship or some other equally drastic change, "for the sake of the country".


And the Epstein files will disappear.

asian_chihuahua

Maybe we should stop paying taxes every week. They are closed.

BG3Baby

Might have to resort to a mass special election to replace every sitting member of Congress if it came to it :| That'd be fun....finally remove the geriatrics that care more for their personal wealth and power than doing fucking jobs and hiding behind party lines...

asher030

"Plumbing is terrible! Its always leaking or clogged, and nobody knows how to fix it! We'd all be better off without plumbing!"

\--If the GOP was a plumber

Entire_Teaching1989

It's kind of like societal starvation. A lot of time can pass without some acute problem, but eventually failures accumulate and make life suck more and more.

And eventually enough failures will compound and there will be one or more catastrophic failures. And that will either sufficiently motivate people to demand it reopen, or many people will simply die.

For example, consider what happens in poorer countries when there is a major natural disaster. Buildings collapse, infrastructure gets destroyed, and people get hurt -- these things happen in both the US and in poorer nations. 

But when the US government is operational a *ton* of things spring into action following a disaster and fix the problem. Buildings that collapsed are removed and (sometimes) rebuilt. Infrastructure is repaired. Injured people are given medical attention. Etc.

If there aren't orgs that do that work, then the work just doesn't get done. Collapsed buildings remain and reduce space available for people to live / force people to just live in wrecked buildings (which slowly collapse further, occasionally hurting and killing people). Infrastructure stays destroyed and you simply lose the ability to go places / lose the ability to have clean water, and your health declines and you become weaker and spend more time in pain. People who are hurt either die or suffer lifelong disabilities because of badly healed bones or other chronic conditions, and the result is they produce less and also spend their lives in pain and suffering.

And in the midst of this suffering, people tend to get more and more violent as competition for scarce resources turns into life and death.

This is why so many poor nations are also frequently in the midst of insurgencies, civil wars, and other such issues. When there isn't enough, people will fight to make sure they and theirs get what is (and become much more concerned on making sure "the enemy" doesn't).

As far as the US goes, there is a long way to fall. People have spent centuries building institutions and infrastructure and surplus, and it will take a while to burn through that. But once it's gone, it's gone. And once it's gone, people plummet all the way down the hierarchy of needs and realize just how miserable life can be and just how many things they took for granted before. Because very few of the things that make life easy just happen / occur naturally -- they are the result of a *ton* of hard work and accumulated surplus and investment. And if those things go away life will just get harder.

History suggests that, when central authority breaks down, power passes to local warlords. This happened during the decline of Rome, in Japan, and in many other places. And so if the US Federal government fails to exercise power, local or at least alternate sources of power will step into the vacuum -- corporations, local police, religious organizations, local governments, etc.

But contrary to what some who fetishize "decentralization" might imagine, this tends to be very bad for everyone involved, because overall everyone has access to much less than they did before, so basically everyone gets way, *way* poorer. You get less food, worse food, and less variety. Nutrition and health declines. You spend more time working harder and more physical jobs. You get bullied and beat up on by local thugs, and have no recourse, so you have to either get your own gang together, you have to make nice with existing gangs and endure whatever they decide to do to you, or they kill you and nobody does anything about it.

It also tends to lead to *way* more violence, because different local leaders start fighting each other in the absence of any higher authority available to resolve disputes. What would have been a court case over property lines instead becomes a shoot out, which then becomes countless feuds as people get killed and relatives swear revenge and you get this constant cycle of personal violence stemming from political violence and becoming more personal violence becoming more political violence, and so on.

The changes and degradation will seem gradual on a day by day basis, but on a year by year basis it will seem *super* fast as you remember how much nicer things were last year, and the year before that. And they will keep going until the work to change them is done, or forever if nobody steps up to do that work.

Now, this shutdown will most likely be pretty short -- even the longest one on record was a bit over a month, I believe. So most likely this one will last on that timeframe. And in that case it will fuck up a lot of peoples' lives but probably won't cause mass death / hundreds of thousands of deaths.

But at the same time, there is no inherent rule that will magically start things back up. By analogy, I-90 goes from Boston to Seattle, and if you get on it in Boston and keep going you will inevitably get to Seattle eventually (or you will break down on the way) if you don't choose to exit anywhere. And similarly, the government shutdown will inevitably lead to some pretty radical outcomes if nobody does the work to end it.

helmutye

Simple. People in power have forgotten that the age old solution to ruling classes being intractable is, well, pitchforks and torches. And guillotines and gallows. I'm not advocating violence. I'm saying that historical end result of a governing class that doesn't govern has been that class realizing, far too late, that they are made of up the same easily perforated and flammable meat as everyone else. Again, not advocating, just saying that throughout history, these things in with people in power being strung up, cut down, chopped up, etc.

davidlondon

I do wonder since this is sort of "magas plan" to cripple the social services of the federal government, at what point do other orgs step in (like state goves or other groups) to fill the role of the federal government. At that point its a volatile situation since the de jour government loses legitimacy to a de facto one

AffectEconomy6034

the biggest effect most will feel first, i believe, is airports shutting down due to air traffic controllers not showing up to work. Right now they’re staying with the promise of getting back pay, but eventually they’ll need to make funds elsewhere/anywhere to put food on the table.

i looked into it a few weeks ago, and apparently people calling out sick started to rise exponentially after about the 3 week mark. Apparently 2 missed paychecks is the limit many will tolerate. 

The government has now been shut for 21 days

MyFeetLookLikeHands

Wonderful-Glass-3249

This is *exactly* what the Mango Mussolini wanted. Create chaos. As long as MAGA congresspeople are kissing the ring, it'll stay closed. He'll threaten any repub congresspeople who want to negotiate because the ACA was Obama's huge accomplishment. He absolutely *hates* Obama and would like nothing more than to get rid of it.

Anxious-Raspberry-54

The MAGA want it kept shut down.  It gives Trump the ability to make "emergency choices" like shutting down departments and bulldozing the white house.

The moment it opens, they'll be forced to approve that new representative and release the Trump files as well. 

It's unlikely that you'll see the US government open again, since the longer it stays shut, the more power MAGA accumulates.

NSA_Chatbot

What can force it to reopen? I don't know, a stroke or a terminal coronary event I suppose. That or the idiots in red states get hangry enough they 2A their representatives and senators.

menuval

Libertarians wet dream. Libertarians are also more short sighted than a 5 year old.

whiskeyrocks1

John Thune can change the rules within the senate and end the filibuster but there are consequences that come with that and I’m not sure republicans want that just yet.

CyanCazador

just storm the capital, apparently that's totally fine with our administration.

Dizzy_Chemistry_5955

Poor people with no food security is the kind of “I got nothing to lose” that should scare the shit out of all of them.  It does me.  We have already planned to not shop during November if needed

bigfatfurrytexan

This cycle seems to be different from prior ones in that they are “recalling” furloughed employees to work (for free, until paid somehow). In previous shutdowns, the rule was that once an employee goes home they stay there, since they must not be essential, and reasons for going home usually included getting ill, care for children, etc. If civil servants can be forced to come and go as the “closed” government needs them, there’s not much to force a chance until they start refusing. As usual, the air traffic controllers will probably be the real tell - when they start refusing and privileged people can’t fly their planes, the pressure will mount on Republican leadership to negotiate.

Clarkkent435

protests will increase,

which is EXACTLY what Trump wants, so he can call the Insurrection Act and become King for real, and cancel elections.

Apprehensive-Care20z

Rumbling-Axe

As long as trump is still
President nothing will make it reopen it’s only going to get worst from here

Playful_Recover_6327

MostMoistGranola

Ekly_Special

Can it be that the Republican, Trump and MAGA turned out to be the benificiary of government non-existance so they would prefer to just let it shut down?

Remote-Cow5867

What happens if nobody files tax returns this year?

Hooddub1

They need to revoke congressional salaries during shutdowns. They are federal employees and should not be an exception.

querty7687

imtooswift

My theory is it will stay down and Congress will dissolve entirely. This was their quiet way of breaking the country.

TAHINAZ

They can stay closed as long as they can stay closed, but here are [some important dates that they will come up against that could cause them problems:](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5561093-shutdown-end-dates-to-watch/)

# Oct. 24: Next paycheck for federal employees

# Oct. 31: Next military paycheck

# Oct. 31 and Nov. 5: Congressional staffer paychecks

# Nov. 1: Affordable Care Act open enrollment

# Nov. 21: Week of Thanksgiving

Essential Government employees will continue to work without pay, which could cause some of them to look for a new job elsewhere.

Most government contractors are usually on annual renewals, so unless those renewals are coming to an end, they will continue to work with pay.

Also, during a government shutdown, the president can exert more executive power, allowing for potential reshaping of federal agencies and the ability to enforce layoffs. 

This increased authority can lead to significant changes in government operations, as the administration may prioritize actions that align with its political goals.

mdws1977

If you leave it off long enough the battery will run out and reset everything.

Miserable-Garlic-532

We call them fired and elect new representation.

in9ram

Most stuff is either still getting funded or the people are working without pay. That's why you haven't noticed the shutdown.

If it stayed shut down the money gone from the economy would cause everything to collapse. Not to mention tens of millions without food and healthcare.

seriousbangs

Not paying ANY legislators or White House admin staff would really speed the process along. They have mortgages and insurance payments also - and having their income cut to zero... Would probably encourage them to make a faster decision. 

ExcitedGirl

Well, the simple answer is that when they run out of money to pay the troops or give the conservative welfare queens their checks, we'll see a change.

For the moment, Mr Trump is redirecting Congressional funding from liberal places to conservative ones to ease the pain on his voters.  Classic autocrat stuff, nothing new there.  But that money won't last forever, and then we'll see some hard choices, because most non-MAGA voters (e.g. self-described independents) seem to understand that the party which controls both houses of Congress, the Presidency, and has a bunch of partisan hacks on SCOTUS is the one which should be held accountable.

Can you even imagine if Mr Biden had tried any of this shit, or Mr Obama?  He'd have been sued into oblivion and you'd have Ya'llQaeda on the streets with their guns in about 4 hours flat.

Ok_Swimming4427

Someone once said that most Americans are 1 or 2 paychecks away from homelessness.

Going further than that most Americans are 4 paychecks away from pure survival mode.

The only thing that could reopen the government now would be intent to start a war, aviation/shipping in some way crippled, a energy crisis, or something to that effect.

It will never be the same

JLNX1998

Trump will just make exceptions for vital workers - say air traffic controllers -  so that there is no compelling reason to open before elections

Alena_Tensor

Whats to prevent Trump from simply taking IRS revenue and applying it to programs he wants completely ignoring Congress and the Courts?  Or if Congress and the courts simply go along?

bezelbubba

We'll find out. Our current "representatives" don't seem to want to stop their paid holiday.

Though I just heard that if the Govt shut down last another week or so, SNAP benefits will run out in TX and other states.

dirtybird971

sidechaincompression

ATC not going to work. Social security payments not going out.

Mysterious-Cress7423

Apparently the government might downsize the number of employees with permanent layoffs

Stunning-Adagio2187

Stop paying the Congress and other politicians' paychecks. Then you will see the government run like a well oiled machine.

ibddevine

At some point all the excepted employees who aren't getting paid are going to have to find other employment, and the stuff that they're doing will no longer get done. Suddenly large portions of the government simply stop.

exerda

KookyMenu8616

Had the US not demonized protests so much, enough people could just march on congress or the whitehouse and not stop until either they got what they wanted or civil war. The power ultimately lies in the people. What's the point of the second amendment if people are so ignorant or complacent when tyranny does rise?

nanen03

Fortunately, the Constitution requires that the Senate and House members get paid regardless of shutdowns. They have no compelling reason to do jack squat for regular folks.

Altitudeviation

Pitchforks and torches marching to destroy the monster.

talon6actual


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AutoModerator

All so they can cover up their party’s pedophile scandal and deny us citizens adequate healthcare. Truly despicable.

A1sauc3d

and the first was under trumps first term. congrats america

saiyanscaris

The trumpets blame the democrats for the shutdown. How about you blame those who are cutting health and education spending? Or has it become a purely authoritarian country and any objections to such sheer stupidity has become the problem.

biro2200

* Step 1: Republicans shut down the government and blame Democrats. 

* Step 2: The shutdown drags on, and the public blames the Republicans. 

* Step 3: Eventually the government reopens. Plenty of damage is done, and nothing is really accomplished.

* Step 4: Repeat next year expecting different results.

PastorBlinky

There is no explanation that makes sense that legitimately can pin this on Democrats.

OrganizedChaos1979

If this is a contest, I hope we don't win. Americans won't be receiving SNAP in November — just in time to not be able to afford Thanksgiving — children *will* go hungry. However, Congress will do just fine as they eat that second slice of pie.

invalidpassword

*From Bloomberg News reporter Erik Wasson:*  
  
The US government shutdown, now in its 22nd day, has become the second-longest in history as the stalemate between the two parties over expiring health-care subsidies persists.

With President Donald Trump expected to leave later this week for a trip to Asia, lawmakers and congressional aides say they see a real possibility the closure could extend into November and surpass the 35-day shutdown of Trump’s first term.

A Tuesday meeting at the White House between Trump and Senate Republicans appeared to only strengthen the GOP resolve to refuse to negotiate with Democrats, who have demanded as their price for reopening the government that Congress provide relief to 22 million Americans whose health-care premiums will spike in January.

bloomberg

Trumps shut down! He won’t work with congress.

wranglero2

The blame is at the feet of the party that refuses to govern because they can’t get the votes from their own party so they’ll complain about the other party when in reality is their inability to govern that is the problem. 

We need a law that requires Congress to be sent home for SNAP reelection if the House is shutdown for more than a month. 

Anyone else know of a job where you can go a whole month without doing your job and still have a job?!

LuigiTheTweak_eth

Anything to block the Epstein client list

JDNosferatu

The government isn’t shut down, I think it’s dead walking. Like I kinda have a feeling they may never bring the session back and just crumble everything that way

LawlessLumberLord

The upcoming trump depression will be twice as long as the great depression

ScarOk7853

Republicans just can't govern. They control all three branches of government and they still fuck it all up.

damik

Breaking records but at what cost? 🤦‍♂️ Every day this shutdown continues, real people suffer. Jobs are on the line, services are halted, and our leaders are busy shaking hands like they've achieved something monumental. This isn't a milestone, it's a millstone around the neck of every American.

PickleKnight004

Trump now holds the record for:

Longest shutdown: 35 days

Second longest shutdown: 22 and ongoing

The most shutdowns in total: 4

The most total days of shutdowns: 59 and counting (more than every other shutdown combined!)

The highest cost of shutdowns: At least $5B, and counting

Most employees furloughed: 900,000 (so far, this shutdown)

MyNameIsRay

KrookedDoesStuff

Remind me again who presided over the longest shutdown?

nuboots

Just a matter of time until people start missing meals and start burning shit down.

burnmywings

I wish we had a vote of no confidence process in the USA. 


Don't want to do your job? Great. Get the fuck out of Washington, stop getting paid, and cease any insurance you may have. 

aquagardener

Yourearguingwithab0t

OnasoapboX41

TrinityCodex

Winning, always winning. Especially now in the new Rose Garden.

punk_in_your_phone

The GOP wants to do things that have never been done before….they won’t settle for second. So buckle up yall it’s about to be months long.

QDSchro

Stop paying Congress until they come back into the office.

easygoluckyish

Admirable_Impact8530

It’s amazing how many of tRumps friends are being charged with crimes related to being a pedophile! but what about Biden??

Can you guess who was prez during the longest one? You can do it!

SnooLobsters6766

I would like to see poll how many think Trump is a pdffile?

SixOneDane

We're really gunning for gold in the stupid Olympics aren't we?

_flyingmonkeys_

CaptBreeze

Probably benefits trumps narrative to keep it shut for a bit tbh.

That way he can be like ‘the gov was shutdown for so long i deserve a third term’

cinnamonrain

How is this even a thing in the free world? What a joke america has become.

slavid180501

Both under the trump administration with republican led house and senate. Are we still winning?

bigtiddyhimbo

Does anyone remember what happened to King Charles I, who tried to rule without parliament?

qglrfcay

According_Ad5165

I suspect you already have a dictatorship. You certainly have no government and the party does what it wants.

Kauri1

The US government has entered a shutdown phase due to a standoff over federal funding priorities between President Trump and Senate Democrats.

US Government Shutdown

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want