The 2025 government shutdown, claiming its title as the “longest shutdown in U.S. history”, has sparked a mixture of anger and confusion amongst the public. Starting on October 1st, 2025, the shutdown lasted for a total of 43 days, which drastically impacted millions of lives around the country. Thousands were furloughed and laid off, disrupting many people’s everyday lives, whilst others lost government-subsidized benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The cause for this shutdown is at the hands of both the Democrats and Republicans–a feud over what should happen with federal funding, and where the government  should go next. Democrats officials wanted to issue more healthcare subsidies to many Americans in the country, emphasizing the importance of the Affordable Care Act or (ACA). However, Republicans disputed the funding going towards healthcare, leading up to the now infamous shutdown. With millions of Americans demanding to end this shutdown for good, the government finally complied, meeting its end on November 12th, 2025.

What were the effects of this shutdown?

This recent shutdown has created a lot more negatives than positives. Those who were impacted by this shutdown have struggled to get back into the workplace, or have even tried to find a completely new job. Notably, some workers were more impacted by the shutdown compared to others, specifically government official employees who work in specific departments like the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, workers in The Department of Defense as well as Health and Human Services didn’t receive a single paycheck on October 24th, which continued on the 28th and 30th, where more and more federal employees also missed these paychecks. In an article by Reuters, they concluded that 87% of workers in the Department of Education were furloughed, and that 89% of those furloughed worked for the EPA. Although these government employees were most impacted by the shutdown, other jobs who were impacted include: TSA Agents, Air traffic controllers, and small business owners.

What happened to SNAP Benefits?

Millions of Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or (SNAP) benefits to aid in purchasing groceries and other household necessities on a day to day basis, but with this shutdown, a majority of these benefits were cut or discontinued on the first of November. (NPR). An article by Pew Research Center states that 42.4 million individuals in 22.7 million households received monthly SNAP benefits throughout the first 8 months of 2025, which is about 12% of the U.S. population. With inflation at an all-time high, it’s become difficult for families to provide household essentials like food and water, let alone other products that are used to make a simple dinner for you and your loved ones. Unfortunately, many families had to suffer the consequences of this shutdown, and have not yet recovered. Noticing this, other individuals stepped up to help bring each of these households food, water, and other supplies. According to Ed Source, 85 culinary students at Kinney High School in Rancho Cordova California distributed 49 containers of healthy meals to those in need. Lily Mendev, a high school senior at Kinney, said how she “enjoyed it” and that “it’s great teamwork [and] that [she] was honored to be able to help other people”.

Now that the shutdown is officially over, there’s one question that’s on everyone’s mind: “What was even accomplished during the shutdown?”.  To that, it’s one that nobody can really answer. Jobs were lost, American workers were forced to work without compensation, and government assistance programs like SNAP benefits were delayed or cut for millions of families around the United States. This 43 day period changed a numerous amount of things, and now, it’s made a lot of Americans anxious thinking about what could happen next. Though certain individuals have helped others out during this pressing time, these shutdowns aren’t “abnormal” considering what happened with Trump’s previous presidency. Another government shutdown that lasted only 35 days throughout the course of January 2018, again, poorly reflecting on the state of our government. Even after all of this, it’s important to be aware of what could happen in the future, to be prepared for these types of situations, and continue to help those out who truly need it the most.