why did the us government shut down 2025

The US government shut down in 2020 because Congress failed to agree on a budget or a temporary funding bill. The main issues causing the deadlock were political disagreements between Republicans and Democrats over spending priorities, particularly healthcare-related provisions. The shutdown happened at the start of the fiscal year on October 1, a common time for funding gaps when new budgets are due but not yet approved. Democrats wanted to protect healthcare subsidies and social programs, while Republicans pushed for budget cuts. This stalemate led to the shutdown affecting non-essential federal government services until a spending plan could be agreed upon. Government shutdowns occur when funding authority expires without a new budget or stopgap funding legislation, causing many federal workers to be furloughed and some government operations to halt until resolved.