Sept. 30 marked the end of the 2025 fiscal year — a deadline that, in most years, would have brought about a bipartisan agreement on congressional funding for the U.S. federal government. Instead, the government entered a shutdown Oct. 1 — six years after its last shutdown in 2019 — leaving around 670,000 federal employees furloughed. On Nov. 5, it became the longest shutdown in American history.
At the national level, both the Democratic and Republican parties were divided over what the new spending bill should include, leading to the government shutdown. Congressional Democrats sought a reversal of President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, an extension of tax credits to lower monthly health insurance premiums and a halt to spending cuts for government health agencies. Meanwhile, Republicans pushed for an increase in defense spending. U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican legislator representing Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Iowa City, explained her goals for the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2026, which was a temporary solution to keep the current budget and government agencies open until an agreement is made or the resolution ends Nov. 21.
“Fiscal responsibility is always top of mind for me. Americans work hard for every dollar they make, and I take it as a personal priority to make sure every dollar they pay in taxes gets used wisely and in a way that is beneficial for our country,” Miller-Meeks wrote in an email. “The funding bill we passed in the House, and that I voted in support of, doesn’t give us everything we want, but it does give us more time to negotiate a real, long-term budget.”
Republicans held majorities in both the House and Senate, establishing a governing trifecta with Trump holding office. Even with control of Congress, a filibuster — an extended period of debate, often used to stall political action — was in place in the Senate, which requires 60 votes to overcome, compared to the simple majority of 218 votes in the House. With the filibuster in place, the continuing resolution was stalled in debate. Another option was to remove the filibuster through overriding the standing rule — otherwise known as the nuclear option, requiring only 51 votes, which many have opposed. The Senate passed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act with a vote of 60-40, with six Democrats voting with Republicans Nov. 9. This has extended government spending until Jan. 30, funding government agencies and opening national parks.
These opposing objectives only raised long-term differences between Democrats and Republicans, with recent years culminating in an increase in voting along party lines. Between January 2023 and early 2025, the 118th Congress enacted only 274 laws, compared to the 804 passed by the 95th Congress over 40 years ago — a 66% drop in legislative output.
Tim M. Hagle, an associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa, believed that the shutdown would be prolonged due to differing policy agendas.
“[Democrats] feel that this is their opportunity to try to leverage their position, [given] that Republicans need a few Democrats to cross over [to] get something passed. They could push that and force the Republicans to change the budget and add things back in,” Hagle said.
Ultimately, long-standing policy divisions over immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights and election integrity fueled both the shutdown and the growing hostility between parties. Accusations over rigged election results in the 2000 and 2020 presidential elections have also contributed to this growing divide, where politicians from both parties have taken advantage to build mistrust in the other party with the general public.
Federal agencies were heavily impacted by the shutdown — notably the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Education and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, who were forced to furlough or temporarily release more than 50% of their employees. Will Davies, a whistleblower investigator who gathers information for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is a furloughed worker who has adapted to being furloughed while continuing to make a living. Additionally, Davies is a part-time worker in the Navy Reserves, where he has not been receiving paychecks.
“About 98% of the personnel that worked for OSHA were deemed non-essential, so [we’ve] been off work since Oct. 1, with no idea [of] when we’re going to come back,” Davies said. “Luckily, I’ve been in a spot where I have enough savings to cover a certain amount of time. But right now, I’m [the] primary earner in my house, so [I’ve been] budgeting and looking at how [I’m] going to earn money if this continues.”
Although some essential federal workers and military members continued to get paid, 730,000 people, including air traffic controllers and TSA officers, were working without pay. Additionally, several government assistance programs were affected. The nationwide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program temporarily paused benefits starting Nov. 1, despite more than 262,000 Iowans — including over 100,000 children — relying on the program. On Oct. 30, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds pledged the state will match each dollar of cash donations to food banks up to $1 million to support the expected increase in shoppers. With the conclusion of the government shutdown, SNAP benefits will be distributed, although the timing may vary from state to state.
Faisal Hamzeh ’27, a volunteer at the Coralville Food Pantry, had noticed changes the pantry made in preparation to assist SNAP users.
“They’ve always had more potatoes, onions and other fresh produce, so more long-lasting produce. There’s been less fresh produce, [like] apples [and] tomatoes, and a lot more carbs,” Hamzeh said. “Limits are going out there. Meat limits [used to] have three meats [per visit], [but] it’s now one.”
The Iowa City Community School District addressed concerns over expiring SNAP benefits in an email to students and families Oct. 31, explaining that students can still access share tables and in-school pantries in addition to free or reduced lunch and breakfast to help offset the changes.
While resources were provided to help alleviate the situation, Hagle believes that if the cycle of political polarization continues, citizens will continue to lose trust in the government.
“It increases the uncertainty with programs if every two years, the power in Congress changes from Democrat to Republican,” Hagle said. “Then it creates this uncertainty in the economy [for] a lot of people.”
