* Data includes funding gaps that have lasted for at least one full day.
* The current budget process was established in 1976. Since then, the government has had 21 funding gaps, resulting in 11 shutdowns for various lengths of time.
* Some funding gaps after 1982 either occurred over a weekend or were too short for affected agencies to begin shutdown procedures before Congress restored funding.
* Before the 1980s, funding gaps did not usually result in government shutdowns. Agencies would continue to operate with the expectation that funding would resume in the future. But since 1982, shortly after the basis for government shutdowns was established, funding gaps have led to full or partial shutdowns more frequently.
* Bonus fact: During the 2013 shutdown which lasted 16 days, the Library of Congress canceled several concerts including Randy Newman.
USAFacts on
Yesterday, the ongoing shutdown of the US federal government became the longest in its history, reaching 35 full days (and now we’re at 36 and still counting). This surpassed the previous longest (and most recent) shutdown that lasted from December 21, 2018 to January 25, 2019 during President Trump’s first term, which was fueled by disputes to fund and construct a US–Mexico border wall.
Prior to that, the longest shutdown came under President Clinton (there were 2 shutdowns while he was in office, both during his first term), lasting 21 days from December 15, 1995 to January 6, 1996. Both shutdowns while Clinton was in office happened during a budget standoff with the Republican-controlled Congress led by Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Ghoulius-Caesar on
Man, Republicans really suck at this governing thing
-Invalid_Selection- on
Ignoring the “‘no shutdown” lines, because the government didn’t actually shut down during those, Donald Trump is responsible for over half the days the government has been shutdown in all of US history.
He’s at 69 days.
Everyone else combined is 52 days.
That puts 57% of all government shutdowns directly on Trump’s head.
uatme on
2018 being over Christmas makes it not as big as it looks in my mind
Upset-Diamond2857 on
Both longest were Trump with the Republicans controlling everything- what gives
SabresBills69 on
Thus one is worse…. the record it broke. Some agencies got funded earlier as the passed pieces if the budget. DOD was an early one.
tommyc463 on
Hmm I wonder who was the “leader” during the longest shutdowns. Who could it be? Hmmmm?
Chieftobique on
No one does shutdowns like Trump does shutdowns.
taker223 on
I wonder how many days the current shutdown would last.
Also i wonder how government employees are supposed to live with no pay?
scott__p on
SO tired of all this winning
iguacu on
The Dealmaker™!
Who knew that being insulting, stubborn, and vitriolic didn’t lead to successful negotiations?
scriptingends on
“People are calling it the Big, Beautiful Shutdown. Nobody does shutdowns like you, President Trump, they’re saying. Obama didn’t have a shutdown like this. Dick Cheney? He’s shutdown now, it’s such a shame, and we love Dick Cheney, don’t we? But he didn’t get a shutdown like this. We’re getting numbers like we’ve never had before. A hundred and sixteenth, Five thousand and eleventy three. These are truly – *historic* numbers. Numbers that you, that make you think – *wow*, these are – historic, with regard to number.”
tenuki_ on
It’s the greatest shutdown, the best. Everyone is saying.
Trump holds all branches both terms and has the longest shutdown in history, both times.
Modern GOP cant govern.
RachGetsReddit on
I have a question… possibly a dumb one. How come this data shows all of these shutdowns happening in the last few months of the year? Is there a reason for this?
MasalaGGG2of3 on
History will not be kind to this man.
PonyPounderer on
Now add who the president was, his party, and who controlled congress and the house. If you do that you’ll actually be telling a story with data.
CSWorldChamp on
Y’know, in the UK, if the parliament fails to fund the government, the Prime Minister is fired, parliament is dissolved, and new elections are held. Just sayin’.
SnooBooks1701 on
Which one of these was the one when Ted Cruz shut the government down by reading Green Eggs and Ham?
tolerable-fine on
What is the key dispute for the budget that they can’t agree on?
OkFineIllUseTheApp on
Im going to step a little away from the current politics and say if this is the main impact of the Anti Deficiency Act as revised in 1982, we should roll that back.
This isn’t to say we let the government spend whatever it wants. There should still be consequences for misappropriation, as there have always been since the 1800s, but all I’ve seen is people being hurt, and that is absolutely not what the framers of the Constitution wanted.
unchangingtask on
Honestly can they just fund the FAA and National Park services and shut everything else down til midterm election.
Vaulters on
Bunch of fuckin wackos in the US.
That’s a technical term.
Blazanar on
It’s a real shame that the Republican lead house allowed the Democrats to shut down the government like this…
The_Gielotine on
Can I stop paying federal taxes then? Or is that only for billionaires?
Ok-Fisherman-7688 on
I’m a millennial. I’m tired of historic events and firsts…
Festivus_Rules43254 on
I’m still at a loss as to how you have a shutdown AT ALL when one political party controls the House, Senate, and President.
I hate this timeline
Affectionate-Idea690 on
Show to say no matter how they pin this, the bucks stop at his desk…this is his administration and legacy forever, he owns this failure. 😂
Sir_Lame on
This is what you get when you vote in a President who does not give one Adderall riddled hamburdur shit about the people affected by a shutdown.
FrozenChocoProduce on
Can someone explain? I thought Republicans control all the necessary chambers/houses/floors ? How can this even happen?
Phont22 on
So, the second longest shutdown was also under Trump? It’s almost like he’s an unqualified fuckwit with no leadership qualities or something. Weird.
Clean-Cupcake3199 on
Both of the Longest under TRUMP
jferments on
The government isn’t shut down. Prisons are operating. ICE is still terrorizing immigrant communities and kidnapping US citizens. Wars are continuing. Everyone is under 24/7 mass surveillance. Lavish state dinners and taxpayer funded golf trips are still happening.
What has been shut down is social programs and regulatory agencies.
Zbignich on
> Leadership: Whatever happens, you’re responsible. If it doesn’t happen, you’re responsible.
Donald Trump, November 8, 2013
theinternetgirlhere on
MAGA at the *greatest* longest and *again* second longest…*Great!*
![The longest government shutdown in US history [OC]](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/yhyvmoueenzf1-821x1024.png "The longest government shutdown in US history [OC]")
37 Comments
Source: [US House of Representatives](https://history.house.gov/Institution/Shutdown/Government-Shutdowns/)
Tools: Datawrapper, Illustrator
Shoutout to u/CognitiveFeedback who posted a [great shutdown chart](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/1opzzs2/significant_us_federal_government_shutdowns/) earlier today with political leadership layered on.
Notes:
* Data includes funding gaps that have lasted for at least one full day.
* The current budget process was established in 1976. Since then, the government has had 21 funding gaps, resulting in 11 shutdowns for various lengths of time.
* Some funding gaps after 1982 either occurred over a weekend or were too short for affected agencies to begin shutdown procedures before Congress restored funding.
* Before the 1980s, funding gaps did not usually result in government shutdowns. Agencies would continue to operate with the expectation that funding would resume in the future. But since 1982, shortly after the basis for government shutdowns was established, funding gaps have led to full or partial shutdowns more frequently.
* Bonus fact: During the 2013 shutdown which lasted 16 days, the Library of Congress canceled several concerts including Randy Newman.
Yesterday, the ongoing shutdown of the US federal government became the longest in its history, reaching 35 full days (and now we’re at 36 and still counting). This surpassed the previous longest (and most recent) shutdown that lasted from December 21, 2018 to January 25, 2019 during President Trump’s first term, which was fueled by disputes to fund and construct a US–Mexico border wall.
Prior to that, the longest shutdown came under President Clinton (there were 2 shutdowns while he was in office, both during his first term), lasting 21 days from December 15, 1995 to January 6, 1996. Both shutdowns while Clinton was in office happened during a budget standoff with the Republican-controlled Congress led by Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Man, Republicans really suck at this governing thing
Ignoring the “‘no shutdown” lines, because the government didn’t actually shut down during those, Donald Trump is responsible for over half the days the government has been shutdown in all of US history.
He’s at 69 days.
Everyone else combined is 52 days.
That puts 57% of all government shutdowns directly on Trump’s head.
2018 being over Christmas makes it not as big as it looks in my mind
Both longest were Trump with the Republicans controlling everything- what gives
Thus one is worse…. the record it broke. Some agencies got funded earlier as the passed pieces if the budget. DOD was an early one.
Hmm I wonder who was the “leader” during the longest shutdowns. Who could it be? Hmmmm?
No one does shutdowns like Trump does shutdowns.
I wonder how many days the current shutdown would last.
Also i wonder how government employees are supposed to live with no pay?
SO tired of all this winning
The Dealmaker™!
Who knew that being insulting, stubborn, and vitriolic didn’t lead to successful negotiations?
“People are calling it the Big, Beautiful Shutdown. Nobody does shutdowns like you, President Trump, they’re saying. Obama didn’t have a shutdown like this. Dick Cheney? He’s shutdown now, it’s such a shame, and we love Dick Cheney, don’t we? But he didn’t get a shutdown like this. We’re getting numbers like we’ve never had before. A hundred and sixteenth, Five thousand and eleventy three. These are truly – *historic* numbers. Numbers that you, that make you think – *wow*, these are – historic, with regard to number.”
It’s the greatest shutdown, the best. Everyone is saying.
[I like this one better](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/s/KtJICMKMey) as it shows all other presidents had a split congress and *still* had shorter shutdowns.
Trump holds all branches both terms and has the longest shutdown in history, both times.
Modern GOP cant govern.
I have a question… possibly a dumb one. How come this data shows all of these shutdowns happening in the last few months of the year? Is there a reason for this?
History will not be kind to this man.
Now add who the president was, his party, and who controlled congress and the house. If you do that you’ll actually be telling a story with data.
Y’know, in the UK, if the parliament fails to fund the government, the Prime Minister is fired, parliament is dissolved, and new elections are held. Just sayin’.
Which one of these was the one when Ted Cruz shut the government down by reading Green Eggs and Ham?
What is the key dispute for the budget that they can’t agree on?
Im going to step a little away from the current politics and say if this is the main impact of the Anti Deficiency Act as revised in 1982, we should roll that back.
This isn’t to say we let the government spend whatever it wants. There should still be consequences for misappropriation, as there have always been since the 1800s, but all I’ve seen is people being hurt, and that is absolutely not what the framers of the Constitution wanted.
Honestly can they just fund the FAA and National Park services and shut everything else down til midterm election.
Bunch of fuckin wackos in the US.
That’s a technical term.
It’s a real shame that the Republican lead house allowed the Democrats to shut down the government like this…
Can I stop paying federal taxes then? Or is that only for billionaires?
I’m a millennial. I’m tired of historic events and firsts…
I’m still at a loss as to how you have a shutdown AT ALL when one political party controls the House, Senate, and President.
I hate this timeline
Show to say no matter how they pin this, the bucks stop at his desk…this is his administration and legacy forever, he owns this failure. 😂
This is what you get when you vote in a President who does not give one Adderall riddled hamburdur shit about the people affected by a shutdown.
Can someone explain? I thought Republicans control all the necessary chambers/houses/floors ? How can this even happen?
So, the second longest shutdown was also under Trump? It’s almost like he’s an unqualified fuckwit with no leadership qualities or something. Weird.
Both of the Longest under TRUMP
The government isn’t shut down. Prisons are operating. ICE is still terrorizing immigrant communities and kidnapping US citizens. Wars are continuing. Everyone is under 24/7 mass surveillance. Lavish state dinners and taxpayer funded golf trips are still happening.
What has been shut down is social programs and regulatory agencies.
> Leadership: Whatever happens, you’re responsible. If it doesn’t happen, you’re responsible.
Donald Trump, November 8, 2013
MAGA at the *greatest* longest and *again* second longest…*Great!*
and both of them caused by trump