On October 1st, 2025 the government shut down due to Congress’s failure to pass legislation for the 2026 funding bills. A government shutdown is essential what some or all operations of a government are cessated until the government is back up again. Some of these operations that are currently completely or partially halted include Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Acgency, NASA, and various other federal run agencies.

As of Monday, October 20th, 2025, we are currently on the twentieth day of the shutdown making this the third longest government shutdown only surpassed by the 1995, 2018, and 2019 shutdowns (usatoday.com). There is set to be a meeting tonight between the Senate and President Trump at 5:30 in attempts to end the government shutdown for the 11th time yet. If the bill is passed and signed by President Donald Trump, the government shutdown will come to an end; if not, the government shutdown will continue into its third week.

As we continue in this shutdown, it is progressively beginning to impact more and more lives everyday. As of right now, over 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed and ordered not to work (usatoday.com). Despite this, the federal employees deemed as essential to public safety are required to resume work regardless. This list of federal employees includes military personnel, law enforcement officers, border patrol, and air traffic controllers. Calista Nguyen (12), a senior at Yorba Linda High School shares her opinions on the government shutdown by explaining, “I think it’s really scary how our government it shutdown right now and how it’s already been 20 days.

Multiple federal agencies are now facing serious operational disruptions. For example, the Federal Aviation Adminsitartion is facing major flight delays due to staffing issues. Over 5,800 flights were delayed in a single day at major hubs (reuters.com). Also, food aid is starting to be affected by the shutdown. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s largest food aid program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children will continue as funds allow. However, if the shutdown persists there may not be enough funding to pay for the entirety of SNAP. 

Hopefully, in tonights meeting, the government shutdown will come to an end. As Kennedy Conrad (12) shares, “I hope we’ll be out of this shutdown soon!”