how long will the government be shutdown

The current U.S. government shutdown started on October 1, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. EDT due to Congress's failure to pass a funding bill for the 2026 fiscal year. How long the shutdown will last is uncertain because it depends entirely on when or if Congress passes a new spending agreement to fund the government. Previous shutdowns have varied widely in length—from just a day or two to the longest shutdown in history, which lasted 35 days from late 2018 to early 2019. This shutdown could last for days or weeks if negotiations continue to stall, with both major parties currently holding contrasting positions on budget priorities, particularly related to healthcare subsidies and spending cuts. The government will remain shut down until Congress passes and the President signs an appropriations bill or a temporary funding resolution to reopen it. In summary, there is no definite timeline for this shutdown; it will persist until political agreements can be reached, which historically can be anywhere from a few days to over a month or more depending on the circumstances.