why did trump shutdown the government

The US government shutdown under President Donald Trump in late September 2025 occurred due to a failure to pass a funding bill between Republicans, who control Congress, and Democrats. The core issues leading to the shutdown were related to disagreements over healthcare funding policies. Democrats pushed for preserving and extending Affordable Care Act tax credits and reversing Medicaid cuts, while Republicans opposed these measures. Despite a short-term funding bill passed by the House, Senate Democrats blocked the legislation, leading to a lapse in government funding at midnight on September 30, 2025. Unique to this shutdown, the Trump administration was reportedly more willing to allow extensive government closures and even suggested using the shutdown period to identify "non-essential" federal employees for potential permanent layoffs. The administration had been actively reducing government size and workforce leading up to the shutdown. Critical functions such as border security and emergency services continued, but non-essential staff were furloughed without pay until the deadlock was resolved. This shutdown is seen to be driven by the conflict over healthcare funding and broader political strategy on reducing federal government size and spending.